Presidential race

Last week brought fresh deterioration in diplomatic relations between the US and Mexico after Trump threatened to cancel a White House meeting with Mexican President Pena Nieto, saying if “Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting”.  And while Pena Nieto tried to save face by officially cancelling the meeting over twitter, Mexicans are growing increasingly frustrated with a candidate that they see as too soft in combatting an aggressive Trump Presidency.

European shares and S&P futures fell amid mixed earnings from corporate heavyweights, while Asian stocks were fractionally higher. The dollar slump continued against all its major peers after the Federal Reserve gave dollar bulls little to be optimistic about.  The U.S. currency dropped toward the lowest close since November after the Fed reiterated its intention on Wednesday to lift rates only gradually.

Submitted by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Donald Trump named Neil Gorsuch to succeed Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.

The leading candidates for the job all had strong conservative credentials.

 

Gorsuch, 49, joined an opinion in 2013 saying that owners of private companies could object on religious grounds to a provision of the Obamacare health insurance law requiring employers to provide coverage for birth control for women.

 

European stocks rise the first day in four, with Asian stocks, S&P futures and the Dollar all gaining following strong Apple earnings ahead of today's Fed decision and the U.K. parliament's first vote on the Article 50 bill.

Last week we reported that in the aftermath of a report by the Canard Enchaine newspaper, French financial prosecutors had launched an informal probe into possible misuse of public funds by French presidential frontrunner Francois Fillon, who was accused of paying his wife around €500,000 over a period of ten years.