Amid Saber-Rattling, Iran Touts Economic Benefits To West If Nuclear Deal Reached

EU Imposes Drastic Tariffs on Chinese Goods: Is A Trade War Looming? Submitted by Thomas Kolbe Tensions in international trade policy are escalating on multiple fronts. After the U.S. Supreme Court initially declared the tariff regime implemented by President Donald Trump since April of last year unlawful, it appears the administration has explored new ways to stabilize its tariff policy going forward. The signs on the international trade front continue to point toward turmoil. Not least, it is the ramped-up Chinese export machine that is increasingly in the crosshairs of U.S. protectionism...

Continuing Jobless Claims Hit 3-Month-Highs The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time fell from 230k (4 month highs) to 226k (vs 225k exp) last week - elevated but still within the range of the last four years... Source: Bloomberg Pennsylvania and Oregon saw the largest rise in initial claims last week while Ohio and Illinois saw the biggest decline... Meanwhile, continuing jobless claims rose back above 1.8 million Americans - the highest print in 3 months - but still well off cycle highs near 2 million in Q4...

Turkey Dumped 58 Tons Of Gold After Iran War Started, Slamming Price There has been much speculation about the mystery seller(s) that sent gold sliding into a bear market from its January high: was it a sovereign seeking to plug holes in their budget from the recent surge in oil, a "market maker" trying to spark stop loss liquidations, or just retail investors taking profit after one of the best years in history for the precious metal? Today we learned the identity of at least one of the sellers: Turkey’s central...