It was quiet, too quiet. Markets were comfortably drifting ever higher (10th day up in a row for Nasdaq) and then headlines hit on Bloomberg reporting that special counsel Robert Mueller wil be probing Trump's business transactions and will extend his investigation to examining the dealings of Kushner and Manafort.
It is likely that such a wide-angle approach to the probe could trigger a response from the president who last night told the NYT in an interview that any digging into matters beyond Russia "would be out of bounds." Bloomberg also notes that agents are interested in transactions involving the Bank of Cyprus, where Wilbur Ross served as vice chairman before he became the Commerce Sec., as well as the efforts of Jared Kushner to secure financing for some of his family’s real estate properties.
In short, Trump is about to respond, perhaps violently.
More from Bloomberg:
The U.S. special counsel investigating possible ties between the Donald Trump campaign and Russia in last year’s election is examining a broad range of transactions involving Trump’s businesses as well as those of his associates, according to a person familiar with the probe.
FBI investigators and others are looking at Russian purchases of apartments in Trump buildings, Trump’s involvement in a controversial SoHo development with Russian associates, the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and Trump’s sale of a Florida mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008, the person said.
Agents are also interested in dealings with the Bank of Cyprus, where Wilbur Ross served as vice chairman before he became commerce secretary, as well as the efforts of Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and White House aide, to secure financing for some of his family’s real estate properties. The information was provided by someone familiar with the developing inquiry but not authorized to speak publicly.
The roots of Mueller’s follow-the-money investigation lie in a wide-ranging money laundering probe launched by then-Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara last year, according to the person.
As goes USDJPY, so goes the S&P 500...
Gold and VIX are higher...
These headlines follow reports overnight that Deutsche Bank (and other banks) will soon be receiving subpoenas from Mueller for details about Trump's loans.
The president told the New York Times on Wednesday that any digging into matters beyond Russia would be out of bounds. We await the angry tweet response from the president.