I continue to wonder who Bank of Russia President Elvira Nabuillina works for. Seriously. On Friday, in response to solid growth in Russian economic statistics over the past few months, Nabuillina again raised interest rates 0.25%. She still adheres to idiotic IMF-style 'inflation targeting' dogma. Price inflation in Russia finally got off the roughly 2.5% … Continue reading Inflation Targeting Madness: Russia Raises Rates Again
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Deplatforming Paves the Way for Cryptocurrency
The recent deplatforming of Sargon of Akkad by Patreon has a lot of people very nervous. I became worried we'd get to this state the first time they went after Gab for not allowing their app in the Google or Apple stores. It became obvious then that we would wind up here today. It starts … Continue reading Deplatforming Paves the Way for Cryptocurrency
Revisiting Turkey’s Debt Problem
It is increasingly clear the global economy is slowing down. And a few months ago the epicenter for that slowdown was Turkey. The Turkish Lira melted down as fears over its massive pile of corporate debt, most of it denominated in dollars, began selling off. And that had contagion effects into Europe since yield-starved banks … Continue reading Revisiting Turkey’s Debt Problem
OPEC Cuts Deep to Save Cartel
With oil prices in free fall and the dawning realization that Great Reflation trade of 2017 is over, OPEC needed to do something drastic to remind everyone how important they are. Moreover, with Qatar quitting the cartel last week it was then doubly necessary for OPEC to make the markets stand up and remember them. … Continue reading OPEC Cuts Deep to Save Cartel
Mr. Tariff Ups the Ante on China
Donald Trump just jumped the shark calling himself, "Mr. Tariff." He believes a trade deficit is akin to stealing the wealth of a nation. It isn't. Under normal conditions a trade deficit is simply a reflection of the difference in comparative advantage of one country's workers over anothers. And the value of the currency is … Continue reading Mr. Tariff Ups the Ante on China
Recession Incoming or Something Worse? 2/10 Spread Collapses
UPDATE: Now stocks are selling off and the 2/10 spread is less than 10 basis points. Gold, however, refuses to sell off while the euro pulls back versus the dollar. Mike Shedlock over at Mishtalk noted yesterday that there have been a couple of troubling inversions in the U.S. yield curve recently. They happened in … Continue reading Recession Incoming or Something Worse? 2/10 Spread Collapses
The Ins and Outs of Israel’s Pipeline to Europe.
Israel announced a major pipeline project from the gas fields off its shore involving four countries, terminating in northern Italy. The EastMed Pipeline could be one of the longest in history as well as one of the most technically difficult to pull off. The deal was announced on World Israel News a few days ago … Continue reading The Ins and Outs of Israel’s Pipeline to Europe.
Have We Reached Peak Soros?
George Soros is losing. He still thinks he's winning. But, in reality, he's losing. All around you, if you look closely enough, you will see the spectre of George Soros lurking behind the headlines. The caravan, net neutrality, regulating Facebook, the de-platforming of independent media, color revolutions and election meddling, refugee creation and manipulation, the … Continue reading Have We Reached Peak Soros?