Some good news here….

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England serves as an example of the failures of austerity during a slow economic period. Now that elections are taking place the people are taking to the streets in protest of budget tightening.

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“China plans to lower tariffs on some products to encourage imports as the nation seeks to alleviate pressures on domestic resources and reduce trade conflicts, the State Council said in a statement today.

China’s cabinet called on local governments and departments to stabilize and promote commodities imports, widen the buying of advanced technology equipment and energy products, and “appropriately enlarge” the import of consumer goods, according to the statementposted on website….”

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WTI is down $0.74  @$104.18

Brent is down $0.52 @ $119.31

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The Euro is down 0.0023 @ 1.3125

Futures

Currencies

Commodities

World Indices 

LIBOR, EURIBOR, 10 year yields for Italy, Spain, France, and Germany

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEvq7Te7eh0 450 300]

This is a dozy of events that may culminate in some serious trouble for the global economy.  Never under estimate the swiftness of change.

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Elections next weekend could determine if Greece is to stay in the EU. If by chance they leave some fear the Euro could unravel quickly.

Not to mention president elect Hollande could be elected shortly in France help the unwind spiral right quick….

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Asia

S&P Futures

April 2012 TEF Commentary

h/t: ZH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZhDR_2xx9w

“At this point we haven’t ruled out foul play,” police Lt. Alan Hamilton told the Los Angeles Times. “It is one of the things being considered. We are waiting for the coroner’s results.”

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoreutfmhTY&feature=context-gfa

via NYDAILYNEWS.com

CNBC ‘freaking out’ over decline in ratings for Andrew Ross Sorkin and Maria Bartiromo

‘Their biggest attractions have become their biggest losers,’ says industry insider

Andrew Ross Sorkin is apparently not too big to tank.

The same goes for “Money Honey” Maria Bartiromo.

CNBC insiders tell us executives at the cable business channel are “freaking out” because viewership levels are down essentially across-the-board, particularly with its marquee shows, “Squawk Box” and “Closing Bell.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/cnbc-freaking-decline-ratings-andrew-ross-sorkin-maria-bartiromo-article-1.1068973#ixzz1tU59xYiX

This is legal, but is it legitimate? Without the F.B.I., would the culprits commit violence on their own? Is cultivating potential terrorists the best use of the manpower designed to find the real ones? Judging by their official answers, the F.B.I. and the Justice Department are sure of themselves — too sure, perhaps.

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I hate Krugman.

Beware the “ridge” seat. The excitement from his four-hour round-trip ride on his 1993 BMW lasted longer than he was expecting.

Read the story here.

Eli Radke of TraderHabits.com relates a recent conversation he had with a ‘trader.’

Read the conversation here.

Mark Thoma writes about a debate between Calculated Risk and Robert Shiller on the long-term trend of housing prices…Some nice graphs are presented.

Read the article here.