Europe

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.

Submitted by Stefan Gleason via Money Metals Exchange,

"The last duty of a central banker is to tell the public the truth."- Alan Blinder, former Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman

The Federal Reserve Board finds itself back in a quandary of its own making. When Fed chair Janet Yellen pushed through an interest rate hike this past December, she confidently cited an "economy performing well and expected to continue to do so."