Europe

Donald Trump has predicted that the current influx of migrants in Europe will lead to the “end of Europe” in an apocalyptic interview with French magazine Valeurs Actuelles.  “France is not what it used to be, and neither is Paris,” Trump told the magazine. Wnd.com reports: Trump also bemoaned the existence of “no-go zones” avoided by police that have been created by mass Islamic immigration. WND reported in January 2015 the French government listed 751 “Sensitive Urban Zones” the government does not fully control.

Last month, in our latest profile of the $2.8 billion Horseman Capital, we said that not only has that fund which some have called the "most bearish in the world" generated tremendous returns almost every single year since inception (except for a 25% drop in 2009 after returning 31% during the cataclysmic 2008), but more notably, it has been net short - and quite bearish on - stocks ever since 2012. In that period it has consistently generated low double-digit returns, a feat virtually none of its competitors have managed to replicate.

And all of this on a Dudley statement (that said nothing), an oil rumor (repeatedly uttered with no actual news), a billionaire bank CEO buying some more stock in his firm, and a seasonal adjustrment (which made retail sales 'appear positive')... 

Public Service Announcement:

A group of scholars with the Zurich-based Center for Security Studies produced a chilling map showing military exercises held by both Russia and NATO in 2014 and 2015. The map reveals some interesting facts as to what both sides could be planning for World War 3. Each circle seen in the map [below] represents an exercise. The larger circles mean more troops, and smaller circles means less troops. Vox.com reports: Russia’s aggression in Europe — its invasion of Ukraine, its military flights up the noses of NATO states, its nuclear saber rattling — has faded from the news.

In the aftermath of the BOJ's stunning NIRP announcement in late January, virtually everyone had an opinion on what this move of sheer desperation means.