trading recap

“This uprising is a gift from God,” exclaimed the autocrat, ebullient. “They’ll pay a heavy price,” continued Erdogan, unleashing his purge of political opponents. 10,000 were arrested, 60,000 civil servants dismissed, hundreds of schools closed. “It looks as if something had been prepared, the lists are available, which indicates they were to be used at a certain stage,” said EU commissioner Hahn, overseeing Turkey’

Overall: “I would rather run the risk of taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut than taking a miniature rock hammer to tunnel my way out of prison,” said Andy Haldane, Bank of England’s chief economist, referencing the movie classic, Shawshank Redemption. Everyone loves that flick; a jailbreak, executed with patient precision, interwoven with wisdom. In the closing scene, Morgan Freeman explains, “In 1966, Andy Dufresn

Overall: She smiled. A forced, uneasy smile. Puckered up, blew a kiss. And turning from the mirror, Janet made her way down the hall. To a private office. Its walls covered by her only remaining forecasting tools. You see, the Fed’s models ceased working long ago. Taylor Rules, Phillips Curves, and so many other fantastic formulas all failed to explain our new reality. Which left one tool; television. The window into

Week-in-Review (stats expressed in YoY terms): Mon: Renminbi hits new lows, Israel/Turkey restore full diplomatic relations, EU M3 +0.3 to +4.9%, Spain’s People’s Party (Rajoy) wins 33% of votes, Italy wage growth record lows, BIS warns of “risky trinity” of high debt-low productivity-maxed out monetary policy, Moody’s cut’s UK outlook to negative, Mexico retail sales +10.6%, Brazil current account positive (2nd time

Nothing really matters, except things that really matter. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, that really mattered. Because it marked the end of a war that divided. Beginning a prosperous peace that united. Then the Maastricht Treaty was approved in 1992. It contained convergence criteria that paved the way for Europe’s disparate nations to integrate economically. We’ve been on that path ever since, investors rewarded

Overall: “The economic outlook is inherently uncertain, so each participant’s assessment of appropriate policy is also necessarily uncertain, especially at longer time horizons,” said Janet Yellen, uncertain. “You know, obviously, there is a lot of uncertainty about what will happen to productivity growth, but productivity growth could stay low for a prolonged time and we have aging societies in many parts of the wor

Overall: “The man who has no imagination has no wings,” said Muhammad Ali, floating away, like a butterfly, his words carried by the wind. “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it,” said Ali. Europe slumbered, greatness slipping its grasp, its lofty ambition – the power of union – n

Overall: “Negative interest rates have the effect of monetary tightening,” whispered Takehiro Sato, to his eight fellow board members seated in deep meditation, at the Bank of Japan. And as the paradoxical elegance of this Zen koan washed across their unsettled consciousness, he smiled, serene, a pristine mountain pool. “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” continued Sato, the dissident central banker, trying to

Week-in-Review: Mon: G7 meeting produces no firm actions (Aso/Lew disagree on disorderly Yen moves), Japan manu PMI 47.6, Japan trade surplus 6yr high (exports -10.1%, imports -23.3%), Australia revises inflation forecasts lower, Afghanistan Taliban leader killed by drone, Russia unemp 5.9% (retail sales 6.4%, real wages -1.7%), EU PMI -0.1 to 52.9 (service 53.1, manu 52.4), Greece approves necessary legislation to r