United States

In what will likely not surprise too many, The Pentagon has admitted it has deployed drones to spy over U.S. territory for non-military missions over the past decade. Confirming yet another conspiracy theory is conspiracy fact, FBI director Robert Mueller testified before Congress that the bureau employed spy drones to aid investigations, but in a "very,very minimal way, very seldom." The report concludes, "the appetite to use spy drones in the domestic environment to collect airborne imagery continues to grow."

Draghi shot his ‘bazooka’ today and the initial reaction from investors is telling, according to BofA's Michael Contopoulos. The price action in markets (equities down, US rates higher, strength in the Euro) suggests that investors focused more on the signaling of no further interest rate cuts than on the reductions in three key interest rates and the additional bond purchases.

Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

The United States is in the final stages of negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a massive free-trade agreement with Mexico, Canada, Japan, Singapore and seven other countries. Who will benefit from the TPP? American workers? Consumers? Small businesses? Taxpayers? Or the biggest multinational corporations in the world?

 

US President Barack Obama has blasted the UK and France over their Libya policy in the aftermath of the 2011 overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Blaming them for the current chaos in Libya, he referred to the situation as a “mess”and in private called it a “s**t show.” In an interview interview with the Atlantic, Obama said he was wrong to believe the allies would be “invested in the follow-up” to Gaddafi’s ouster.

• Shares bounce, euro fades after savage ECB reaction (Reuters)
• Trump's Islam comments draw attacks as Republicans discover civility (Reuters)
• IEA Says Oil Price May Have Bottomed as High-Cost Producers Cut (BBG)
• Oil Prices Rise on Hopes Glut Will Ease (WSJ)
• Why Euro-Area Inflation Will Be Low for Years, According to Draghi (BBG)
• Calmer markets, positive data prime Fed to push ahead with rate rises (Reuters)
• Key powers mulling possibility of federal division of Syria (Reuters)