Europe

Der Spiegel is disturbed because the right-of-center Polish government is making the country “anti-Western.” Excerpts:

While the focus in the overnight session has traditionally been about two things, namely oil and China, today one can also throw in AAPL which is down 4% in the pre-market after its disappointing earnings yesterday in which it confirmed our channel-checked warnings about China from last summer, and the Fed which is set to release the January FOMC statement this afternoon.

Europe’s passport-free travel system in the Schengen area is about to collapse, according to Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner.  Mikl-Leitner told EU interior ministers that she thinks the temporary national border controls in the Schengen zone are likely to become permanent as a result of the migrant crisis currently engulfing Europe. Presstv.com reports: In a bid to curb the influx of asylum seekers, several EU states, including Germany and Austria, have introduced a border checking system due to expire in May.

Submitted by Justin Raimondo via AntiWar.com,

German supermarket chain Aldi Süd  has become the first major retailer in Europe to ban pesticides toxic to bees. The ban will include neonicotinoids imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam, from all produce sold in their stores with the retailer expecting fruit and vegetable suppliers to comply with their new policy as soon as possible Beyond pesticides report: Aldi has requested suppliers comply at the earliest possible time. In light of the growing pollinator crisis and due to public pressure, retailers in Europe and the U.S.