Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
  • Trump Blasts Germany Again as Merkel Talks Up India Ties. (video) President Donald Trump blasted Germany anew over trade and defense, ratcheting up a dispute with Chancellor Angela Merkel that risks getting personal and undermining a trans-Atlantic bond that is the bedrock of U.S.-European relations. Trump’s comments came in an early-morning tweet on Tuesday issued just as Merkel hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Berlin, where they held a joint cabinet meeting and signed cooperation agreements. Modi suggested that India will adhere to the Paris climate accords, while Trump makes up his mind.
  • Fed's Brainard Says Soft Inflation May Warrant Rate Rethink. (video) Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said soft inflation could cause her to reassess the path forward for monetary policy should it linger, even as the global economic outlook brightens and U.S. growth looks poised to rebound. “If the soft inflation data persist, that would be concerning and, ultimately, could lead me to reassess the appropriate path of policy,” Brainard said in prepared remarks Tuesday. She said her baseline expectation is that “it likely will be appropriate soon to adjust the federal funds rate” and start shrinking the balance sheet.
  • The End of Cheap Chocolate? Cocoa Futures Surge Most on Record. Cocoa prices soared amid signs of tighter supplies in Ivory Coast, the world’s top grower, raising prospects that chocolate costs will climb. July futures jumped as much as 6.8 percent, the most ever for the contract. Farmers in West Africa are already locking in more forward sales for next year’s crop than traders were expecting, a sign that supplies from the current harvest are beginning to ebb.
Wall Street Journal:
Zero Hedge:

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