Spain

Authored by Bruce Bawer via The Gatestone Institute,

A dramatic rollercoaster of a day for Catalonia and Spain is ending ominously, with the Catalan president Puigdemont announcing that he would let the region's parliament decide the fate of the Catalan declaration of independence from Spain, capping off a day of furious reversals. The announcement follows a dramatic reversal from the Catalan leader who until just a few hours ago, was expected to announce that he'd call an early election in the region to avoid Spain's takeover of the Catalan government.

Gold will be safe haven again in looming EU crisis

Yesterday Catalonia’s government was preparing to declare independence, as we discussed. Just hours after Puigdemont snubbed Madrid, canceling his visit to The Senate to discuss their imposition of Article 155, Catalan Deputy First Minister Oriol Junqueras told AP that the Spanish government had left Catalonia “no other option” but to proclaim a new republic. Mr. Junqueras told the AP he was commenting as leader of his party, Republican Catalan Left, not as a member of the regional government.

European shares are modestly lower as investors monitor tense events in Spain and as focus turns to Thursday’s ECB meeting; US equity futures have rebounded from yesterday's sharp but shallow selloff and are in the green amid rising odds of U.S. tax reform and the imminent unveiling of the next Fed chair while Asian shares rise and Japan extends its winning streak to a record 16 days. The euro edged higher after data showed Europe’s economy is maintaining momentum, while the USDJPY managed to recover all of yesterday's sharp losses.