United States

At this point in the war against ISIS, which as we pointed out previously is in full retreat now that its supply of oil-based funding from Turkey has dried up, the only question is when some of the main strongholds of the Islamic State in the region fall, putting what's left of the terrorist organization in terminal disarray. Chief among ISIS' core cities are Raqqa and Deir el-Zour in Syria and Mosul, Baiji and the outskirts of Baghdad, including Falluja in Iraq.

First, a big picture view of the situation.

In his latest letter to investors, OakTree Capital's Howard Marks goes political (slamming Trump's tariffs and Bernie's minimum wage machinations), shedding some blinding light on the economic reality of America, the dismal failure (and increasing impotence) of central bankers, and the ongoing "tryanny of the majority" warning that if everyone wants to tax-the-rich, soon there will be no rich to tax.

For those who need a quick and easy recap of all the main events that took place in the oil and gas services sector, here it is courtesy of Credit Suisse's James Wicklung who present the various "things we've learned this week."

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With Janet Yellen due to speak in under an hour (in a speech that will be a big dud because as SocGen notes, "little emphasis on the monetary policy outlook is expected at this event"), a recurring question is why does the market remain so nonchalant about the possibility of a rate hike as soon as one month from now.

Submitted by David Stockman via Contra Corner blog,

There has never been a more destructive central banking policy than the Fed’s current maniacal quest to stimulate more inflation and more debt. That’s what is killing real wages and economic vitality in flyover America - even as it showers prodigious windfalls of unearned wealth on Wall Street and the bicoastal elites who draft on the nation’s vastly inflated finances.