US Federal Reserve

Last week, when looking at the divergence between Donald Trump's proposed fiscal plan to "make America great again" on the back of an unprecedented fiscal stimulus boost which is expected to add $5.3 trillion to the debt over the next decade...

... and the deleveraging fiscal plan espoused by House Republicans...

... we pointed out something disturbing: the two plans were roughly $12 trillion apart over a cumulative ten year period, a difference equal to more than one-quarter of total federal outlays.

One of the biggest open questions troubling Wall Street traders (and everyone else) in addition to which of his close allies (and in the case of Mitt Romney, not so close) will the president-elect pick to staff the most important political posts in the new administration, is what are the details of Donald Trump's economic plan, especially as it involves the Fed, Trade, and the future of US national debt.

With the Trumpflation euphoria easing back slightly overnight, leading to a modest paring in the USD index and US Treasury yields, Asian and European stocks rose, while US equity futures rebounded to just shy of new all time highs, as crude jumped on renewed optimism that OPEC will agree to cut output; Italian equities underperformed ahead of the Italian referendum; metals rebounded from last week’s losses as yields dropped and the dollar halted its longest winning streak versus the euro.

It was about a year ago when, in a note brimming with optimism, Goldman Sachs (which had just released its Top 6 trades for 2016, 5 of which would close out at a loss just two months later) predicted that the Fed would hike rates 3 times in 2016, a year in which the economy was expected to storm higher. It has yet to hike them once (although the market is 90%+ convinced this will happen next month) even as the economy has done virtually nothing, and some can argue contracted further for most of the world class leading to Donald Trump's "surprise" victory. 

Submitted by Danielle DiMartino Booth via Money Strong,

Mention Preppies and visions of Izods with popped collars and boat shoes may come to mind. The Official Preppy Handbook, published in 1980, regaled readers with the “merits of pink and green,” instructing that, “socks are frequently not worn on sporting occasions or on social occasions for that matter. This provides a year-round beachside look that is so desirable that comfort may be set aside.”