United States

From Nick Colas of Convergex

Loose Lips Sink, Well Everything

In the same quarter in which the US teetered on the verge of contraction (supposedly due to inclement weather despite not one but two seasonal adjustments meant to eliminate "residual seasonality"), Japan grew at the fastest pace in a year and nearly triple that of the US.

Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com,

When President Trump came into office, he openly resented the major trade deficit with Asia’s number-two economy and vowed to remedy the situation. While his words smacked of economic protectionism to many, the latest news about China-U.S. economic relations reveal a different picture.

Authored by Ted Bauman via BanyanHill.com,

How do I despise thee, O Congress? Let me count the ways.

Don’t take my word for it: 75% of Americans disapprove of the job our representatives are doing. It’s things like this that explain why:

Whilst only about 13% of U.S. employees nationwide enjoy a retirement fund that assures stable, lifelong income, all 535 members of Congress do … courtesy of Uncle Sam.

Authored by David Stockman via The Daily Reckoning blog,

The Deep State is escalating its war on President Trump but the Wall Street partiers apparently couldn’t care less until today's relatively modest drop. When the machines tagged 2402 on the S&P 500 yesterday, it was surely a historic case of “look ma, no hands!”

It’s hard to imagine what more will be needed to ignite an eruption of fear and panic in the casino amidst Wall Street’s record and wholly irrational state of somnolence.