presidential election

Asian stocks hit their highest level in 18 months, with positive momentum lifting European shares which were helped by Societe Generale earnings. Yields fell on some of the euro zone's battered low-rated bonds as investors put aside the political risks that have dominated markets this week. After trading flat, S&P futures bounced as US traders walked boosted by a spike in the USDJPY, ahead of earnings reports from Coca-Cola, Reynolds American, CVS Health, Nvidia and Twitter.

After a fiery start to his foreign policy overtures, Trump is gradually normalizing his approach to international diplomacy.

While we would never be the ones to question the integrity of "independent" pollsters, how could we given the amazing job they did predicting the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, we're starting to grow a bit curious about the ever-widening gap in Trump's approval ratings between the various polling institutions.

For example, the latest Rasmussen daily tracking poll found that 53% of likely U.S. voters approve of President Trump’s job performance while 47% disapprove.

Authored by Caroline Baum, originally posted at MarketWatch.com,

To clean up Washington, send the swamp creatures packing

When they run for re-election, more than 90% of House members win.

When we said that an authority conferred by the free suffrages of the people never harmed a republic, we presupposed that the people, in giving that power, would limit, as well the time during which it was to be exercised. – Niccoló Machiavelli, “The Discourses,”. 1517.

It's a story that has been told many times in part, but not in total. While Goldman Sachs' role in helping to create the environment for Greece's government-debt crisis is well known, less discussion is given to the role the Clinton family played in helping Angela Merkel to consolidate political control of Greece while also assisting Goldman as it continued to benefit from the meltdown once austerity measures had begun. The Clintons appear to have received funds from both Germany and Goldman Sachs during this period.