Europe

While you were sleeping, the stock and bonds of a relatively unknown company in the US, but is a household name in much of the rest of the world, Steinhoff International Holdings NV, plunged after its chief executive officer resigned amid accounting irregularities, with the company announcing that it was indefinitely delaying the release of its results, citing a criminal and tax investigation in Germany that dates back to 2015, rocking a company that’s rapidly expanded from its roots in South Africa into a retail empire spanning Australia, Europe and the U.S.

As expected, President Trump on Wednesday recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and announced plans to relocate the U.S. embassy there, a decision that is certain to inflame tensions in the region and throw a wrench in potential peace negotiations, paradoxically uniting the fractured midle east world against Israel... and the U.S.

"I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," Trump said shortly after 1pm in the White House.

For a second, it seemed that the broad risk-off wave that started in Asia, swept Europe and pressured US futures was here to stay. And then, the signal all algos had been waiting for emerged: Gartman just flip-flopped back to bearish.

From Gartman's latest letter:

There is a reason why those calling for a crash, or even a market correction in the past decade, have been carted out feet first: central banks, and noweher was this more obvious than the shocking aftermath of Brexit. The UK’s Brexit vote (Jun-16) marked the point when the buy-the-dip trade became a self-fulfilling put, according to a new analysis by Bank of America.

UK Pensions Risk - Time to Rebalance and Allocate to Cash and Gold