United States

In a world where stat arbs do most of the trading, and where central banks set the prices, everything is a correlation of a correlation of a correlation, and as we have not tired of pointing out since 2010, virtually every correlation starts with the USDJPY, the preferred funding vehicles for BOJ intervention in capital markets, as well as an indicator of Japanese pension fund, in most cases the GPIF, activity in the US risk assets.

In its latest weekly Economic Indicators Update, Goldman charts the ongoing paradoxical divergence between the Fed's professed tightening path and what is actually taking place in the US stock market, where it finds that financial conditions are the easiest they have been in two years.

One month ago, Goldman discussed this topic in depth when Jan Hatzius implicitly asked if Yellen has lost control of the market, and warned that in order to normalize fin conditions, the Fed may be forced to follow through with a "policy shock."

With traders realizing that the "Thursday Turmoil Trifecta" looms, world stocks dropped and safe-haven assets rose as investors focused on the growing tension in the Middle East, while caution spread across markets in a week full of risk events including James Comey’s congressional testimony to the ECB’s policy meeting and Britain’s increasingly uncertain election, all in the span of 24 hours. As a result, European and Asian stocks as well as S&P futures all fell, while gold, yen and Treasuries gained.

Update: on Tuesday, Deutsche Bank said it had responded “promptly” to request from U.S. Democrats seeking information from the bank on its client relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, a spokesman said Tuesday.  It added that the bank can’t comment on individual client relationships and supplying information about relationship to external parties would be violation of law, spokesman says

* * *

The FT has unveiled what its believes is the key trigger behind the shocking overnight collapse in diplomatic relations between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors.