Authored by David Stockman via The Daily Reckoning,
There’s not many tears being shed over Steve Bannon’s departure. His ethno-nationalist and protectionist worldview are opposite to true notions of liberty, free markets and a minimalist state.
Seemed appropriate...
One month ago, Morgan Stanley's chief cross-asset strategist looked at the current state of the market - "the S&P 500, Russell 2000 and NASDAQ have hit all-time highs. Volatility has plunged back down near all-time lows. Credit is tighter and yields have been stable" - and asked "what rattles this market. What breaks the egg?"
His answer was five-fold, including valuations, inflation, geopolitics and China, but the biggest concern was what is coming in just one month on the US legislative docket:
Having staked his reputation one week ago that the "bull market has come to an end", the jury is still out on Dennis Gartman's latest forecast, although one thing is becoming clear - the period of record low volatility has come to an abrupt end and the question is whether it now reverts (much) higher, or resumes its drift lower on more vol-selling and expectations that central banks will keep it all under control. And while we wait and see which way risk inflects, in his latest overnight note, the "world-renowned commodity guru" is out with an even more bombastic prognostication: "
Shitty day for Housing Recovery enthusiasts, the Trump administration, and Fed followers...