Turkey

While investors are focused on Italy, Bloomberg's Mark Cudmore warns that another Mediterranean country is poised to grab their attention very soon. A currency crisis in Turkey is rapidly deteriorating, setting the stage for dramatic and unscheduled central bank action.

The lira has weakened by more than 11% in the last six weeks against an equally weighted dollar-euro basket. This devaluation is exacerbating the situation rather than providing a relief valve.

Submitted by Tom Luongo via PlanetFreeWill.com,

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has essentially reclaimed the city of Aleppo in the past couple of days.  The failure to break the siege from the Southwest coupled with the Turkish Army not resupplying militants meant the situation wouldn’t hold for long.

During a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Turkish President said that Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria was not to target the country or its leader but aimed only at terrorist groups. The Kremlin had asked President Erdogan to clarify his goals in Syria after he claimed that Turkish troops were there to end the rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier this week.

Having stated in the past that the only reason Turkish forces are on Syrian soil is to combat Islamic State terrorists, today Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a dramatic diplomatic reversal and said that the Turkish Army has entered Syria to end the rule of President Bashar Assad, whom he accused of terrorism and causing the deaths of thousands.

Submitted by Gregory R. Copley via OilPrice.com,

US President-elect Donald J. Trump in many ways faces the most circumscribed strategic options of any modern U.S. President entering office. Not only has the global context changed — and will change rapidly even further — so also has the United States’ abilities, tools, and resources to assert itself on the world stage.