Submitted by Jeffrey Moore via GlobalRiskInsights.com,
In the 14th century, the Medici family of Florence began its rise to prominence, investing profits from a thriving textile trade to fund what would become the largest banking institution in Europe. The success of the legendary banking family helped to usher in the Italian Renaissance and thus change the world. Now, Italian banks seem poised to alter the world yet again.
Last October, BofA looked at Europe’s €2.6 trillion in negative-yielding debt and discovered something “stunning”: Savings rates were going up not down.
Don’t believe us, just have a look at these three charts:
On Monday, officials from the EU and Turkey are gathered in Brussels to do some talking about the refugee crisis that threatens to tear Europe apart at the seams. And make no mistake, “talk” is probably all they’ll do.
In the aftermath of last week's disappointing G-20 Shanghai summit, there was much riding on this weekend's start of the China's People's Congress, and specifically what if any stimulus announcement Beijing will make; sadly for stimulus addicts China mostly disappointed and after the unimaginative scope of growth proposals, it is hardly surprising that European stocks and US equity futures have taken a leg lower, even if Chinese stocks rose and certain commodities such as Iron Ore soared overnight on hopes China will either "rationalize" capacity or at least build some more roads to nowhere