United States

As previewed last night, when we reported that the US government would expel as many as 60% of Cuba's Washington Embassy staff, on Tuesday morning the Trump administration announced Tuesday it will expel 15 Cuban diplomats from the U.S. in response to months of mysterious “health attacks” that have affected American personnel in Havana. The State Department said that the decision was made due to "Cuba's failure to take appropriate steps to protect our diplomats in accordance with its obligations under the Vienna Convention."

Authored by Ron Paul via The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity,

Now that the defeat of ISIS in Syria appears imminent, with the Syrian army clearing out some of the last ISIS strongholds in the east, Washington’s interventionists are searching for new excuses to maintain the illegal US military presence in the country.

Their original rationale for intervention has long been exposed as another lie.

Just days after the conclusion of Russia's largest military exercise ever (which US military chiefs believe broke 'observer rules') and NATO's massive war games, Pravda reports a recent Russian Defense Ministry report says that Russia is preparing for the possibility of a military conflict with NATO countries.

It's deja vu all over again.

In a repeat of yesterday's session, where US equities and the dollar levitated in a one-way trade, Tuesday's muted session - where in addition to closed China and South Korean markets, Germany's Dax is also shut for holiday - has seen early dollar and European equity strength, while the S&P is set for new record highs amid higher E-minis and a VIX that is again lower after 5 consecutive days of declines.

Is it QE or is it earnings?