United Kingdom

Authored by Wayne Madsen via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

European and Asian stocks slumped on Thursday following the worst one-day drop in US stocks in 8 months, while S&P futures tumbled to session lows, down 0.3% to 2,350 after initially posting a modest rebound, following a new Reuters report alleging that Trump campaign members communication with Russians on at least 18 occasions, and which prompted today's risk off mood sending the USDJPY crashing by 100 pips from overnight highs of 111.40.

Authored by Carey Wedler via TheAntiMedia.org,

Yet another police officer is speaking out against the drug war, this time in the United Kingdom. Former officer Neil Woods worked as an undercover drug cop for 14 years, infiltrating some of the most violent gangs in Britain only to learn his tactics were worsening the drug epidemic. Now, he advocates ending the drug war and decriminalizing drugs as he admits his own role in fueling violence and the proliferation of narcotics.

By Bill Blain of Mint Partners

Blain’s Morning Porridge – May 15th 2017

“In yacht racing, there is no second.”

Ah the joy of a new week! What’s on the recipe today then?

My colleague Simon Denehy started the day by pointing out UK 2-year gilts yield 0.12% - (his description of that number was more colourful and expressive, but would have had me banned from ever blogging again) - while UK stocks yield an average dividend of 3.8%.

Less than 24 hours after it first emerged, it has been called the first global, coordinated ransomware attack using hacking tools developed by the NSA, crippling over a dozen hospitals across the UK, mass transit around Europe, car factories in France and the UK, universitied in China, corporations in the US, banks in Russia and countless other mission-critical infrastructure.