United States

While it's not as applicable today, there used to be a saying that "as goes GM, so goes the economy."  While the "Big 3" aren't quite as big as they used to be, they still offer vital clues about the overall economic health of the United States.  Unfortunately for anyone who has been paying attention, those "vital clues" are all flashing red warning signs as each passing day seems to bring more news of idled plants and/or shift reductions (see here and here).  Of course, rising interest rates, tightening credit, softening used car prices and rising subprime auto delinquenci

So what do you do if you're the Mexican Ambassador to the United States and are faced with a crisis whereby millions of your citizens have broken numerous federal laws of your host country by illegally immigrating without going through the proper channels?  Well, you simply offer up creative new ways to "game the system" to avoid deportation, like submitting an application for citizenship.  While you may have zero chance of actually being granted citizenship, at least you'll "no longer [be] subject to the deportation processes."  And, as an added bonus, you

Another day, another shot across the bow from Donald Trump aimed squarely at China.

Having already participated (and in the case of one, precipitated) two mini diplomatic snafus with Beijing in just the past two weeks, Trump is sending a clear message to Beijing that US-China trade under his administration will be anything but business as usual, by creating a National Trade Council inside the White House to oversee industrial policy and has decided to appoint a hard core China hawk to run it.

It appears not everyone is convinced that "the 30 year bond bull is dead." A quick glance across US equity options today shows TLT (the long-end Treasury Bond ETF) is the most active with call volumes (bullish bonds, lower rates) more than double their average, with over $1.3 billion notional in February $126 Calls (which will payoff if rates drop to around 2.00% by then).

With come big blocks in the Feb $126 today...

Submitted by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,