United States

Over the past three years, gold has found itself in an odd place: while it still remains the ultimate "safety" trade and store of value should everything go to hell following social and monetary collapse, when it comes to "coolness" it has been displaced by various cryptocurrencies, all of which have vastly outperformed the yellow metal in recent months. Meanwhile, central banks continue to pressure the price of gold to avoid a repeat of 2011 when gold nearly broke out above $2,000, putting the fate world's "reserve currency" increasingly under question.

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

US Defense Secretary James Mattis announced plans on Sunday to ‘Take Apart’ Islamic State Caliphate. Civilian casualties do not matter one bit.

The fight against Islamic State has shifted to “annihilation tactics” to stop potential terrorists who’ve flocked to places such as Iraq and Syria from returning to their home countries to wreak havoc, Defense Secretary James Mattis said Sunday.

 

S&P futures are little changed this morning, while Asian shares rise and European stocks (+0.5%) are poised to snap a five-day losing streak amid a broad-based rally. The pound declined as better-than-expected manufacturing data failed to offset political risk before the impending election, while crude oil gained.

Authored by Brian Cloughley via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

The American guided missile destroyer USS Dewey was reported as having carried out a ‘freedom of navigation operation’ or FONOP in the South China Sea on May 24. According to the US Naval Institute the undertaking involved manoeuvres «within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef for about 90 minutes zig-zagging in the water near the installation. At one point during the operation, the ship’s crew conducted a man overboard drill».

Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.com,

Back in October of 2016 I covered an issue which I have been very concerned with for over a year now. In an article titled Global Elites Are Getting Ready To Blame You For The Coming Financial Crash, I outlined the basis for my belief that Donald Trump would win the U.S. election and why the U.K. Brexit was allowed to meet with success. Here is a quote from that article to give you a general sense of my position: