United States

On the surface, Deutsche Bank's results this morning came in better than expected with first quarter earnings more than doubling as Germany’s biggest bank benefited from a pick-up in market activity at the start of the year. In the three months to March, Deutsche managed to make a net profit of €575m, more than double from €236m in the same period a year earlier, when market were shaken by concerns over Deutsche’s viability, and above consensus estimates of €522m.

Authored by Pater Tenebrarum via Acting-Man.com,

Slightly Premature Victory Laps

In the past several years, nationalistic rhetoric and support for protectionist trade policies have risen sharply across the world. The election of President Donald Trump signaled that Americans are dissatisfied with the economy, including foreign trade. But others point out that the United States often benefits from trade.

HowMuch.net has created the infographic below to show the U.S. states most reliant on foreign trade.

Source: HowMuch.net

Authored by Paul Craig Roberts,

Two weeks ago, when JPMorgan launched Q1 earnings season, we noted that while the results were generally good, one red flag emerged: the company's credit card charge offs rose to just shy of $1 billion, the highest in four years.

It wasn't just JPM: all other money-center banks reported similar trends, so we decided to look into it.