Earlier today, we brought you an eyewitness account of the melee that unfolded in Cologne, Germany on New Year’s Eve.
Allegedly, hundreds of 18-35 year-old males “of Arab and North African origin” robbed and sexually assaulted women gathered in the city center. Assaults were also reported in Hamburg and Stuttgart. Authorities are attempting to discern if there's a connection.
Submitted by David Stockman via Contra Corner,
The recent column by Pat Buchanan could not be more spot on. It slices through the misbegotten assumption that Saudi Arabia is our ally and that the safety and security of the citizens of Lincoln NE, Spokane WA and Springfield MA have anything to do with the religious and political machinations of Riyadh and its conflicts with Iran and the rest of the Shiite world.
Surely, The PBOC will step in at some point and save the collapsing currency? Nope - not if options traders (and Kyle Bass) are to be believed. The odds of the yuan breaking beyond 7 to the greenback by the end of March more than doubled to 12% (from 5.8% at the start of December). Ironically, Bloomberg reports only 1 of 39 analyst predicts Yuan to trade beyond 7 by the end of 2016.
Following the collapse of offshore Yuan to 5 year lows and decompression to record spreads to onshore Yuan, The PBOC has stepped in and dramatically devalued the Yuan fix by 0.5% to 6.5646. This is the biggest devaluation since the August collapse. Offshore Yuan has erased what modest bounce gains it achieved intraday and is heading significantly lower once again. Dow futures are down 100 points on the news.
PBOC fixes Yuan at its weakest since March 2011... with the biggest devaluation since August
And Offshore Yuan collapses...
Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith of OfTwoMinds blog,
This week I am addressing themes I see playing out in 2016.
A number of systemic, structural forces are intersecting in 2016. One is the rise of non-state, non-central-bank-issued crypto-currencies.
We all know money is created and distributed by governments and central banks. The reason is simple: control the money and you control everything.