From Marc to Market:
Overview: It is not clear when the choreography began. US dramatic display, including dropping a dozen bunker-buster bombs on well telegraphed nuclear enrichment sites in Iran, and reports lend credibility to speculation that the enriched uranium had previously been removed. Or was it with Iran's strike on a US bases in Qatar that was well signaled. In any event, a tentative cease fire is at hand. Israel declared its campaign was a success. However, it is unlikely to be seen as a 12-day war, given Israel's decimation of Iran's proxies previously (Hamas and Hezbollah). In any event, the prospect that WWIII, which many feared, has eased and risk-appetites have been emboldened. The greenback has suffered broadly. It has been sold against the G10 currencies and most emerging market currencies today. The sell-off has brought it within spitting distance of the lows seen earlier this month. Gold is off over 1% and around $3320 is at its lowest level in two weeks. August WTI, which reached $78.40 yesterday, extended the pullback to about $64.40 today. It is near $66.20 now.
Equities have rallied. Most of the large bourses in the Asia Pacific region were up at least 1%, while Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea indices rose more than 2%. Europe's Stoxx 600 is up 1.3%, which if sustained would be the largest gain since early last month. US index futures are 0.8%-1.2% better. Benchmark 10-year yields are 3-6 bp higher in Europe, with German Bund yields rising most as defense-spending supply weighs on sentiment. The 10-year US Treasury is little changed near 4.35%. Chair Powell's semiannual congressional testimony is the key event on the North American diary today, while the market will be monitoring the fragile cease-fire in the Middle East....
....MUCH MORE
The choreography began after Trump ordered the assassination of Iran's architect of the Iraqi, Hezbollah, Hamas and other proxy fights, General
It was still January 2 in the U.S. as we posted "Oil: Dammit, I Wasn't Ready!"
Mr. Chandler's January 3 post was headlined: Capital Markets: "Geopolitics Saps Risk Appetite"
The next day Iran ran the red flag of vengeance up the flagpole at the Jamkaran mosque in Qom.
missiles fired at U.S. bases in Iraq, having warned the Iraqis what they were going to do. The explosions resulted in concussion (brain) injuries among the hunkered-down American troops but no deaths.
We announced We Are Temporarily Adding MEMRI and Fars to the Blogroll
Having lost any chance of getting ahead of the quick spike in oil we started posting stuff like "British Judge Rules 'Ethical Veganism' is a Philosophical Belief and is Protected Under Anti-discrimination Laws:"
On January 5th it was "And Now, Back To The Game":
Via Imgur:
Followed by:
Meanwhile in Mexico: Prison Soccer Match Between Rival Cartels Ends With 16 Dead
And later that month: "Dogs poop in alignment with Earth’s magnetic field, study finds"
So same ol', same ol', pretty much what was old is new again.
