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The Weekly Track ides-of-march

- The Weekly Track – Ides of March by Bob Savage
http://track.com/articles/the-weekly-track-ides-of-march/

The 15th of March was the start of the year for the Roman calendar – it coincided with the full moon and tied into spring. The month itself derives its name from Mars the Roman god of war. This maybe something to keep in mind as markets seem at war with themselves with bonds suggesting inflation, stocks suggesting growth, the USD reflecting doubts about the US debt and politics and commodities showing no signs of inflation or growth. The ides of March tie into the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. and the 23 stabs he received reflect the conspiracy of his Senate and its yearning for a return to an Aristotelian Republic – perhaps something for the current US President to pay attention to when it comes to his legislative agenda. The weekend saw a shift in thinking about Turkey as Erdogan attacks the Netherlands for deporting his minister, warns the US on its battle against ISIS in Raqqa and he continues undeterred in his drift to authoritarianism. The next w
eek brings plenty more for seers to warn about politics hurting markets – from the US FOMC rate decision to those of the BOJ, BOE, Norges Bank and SNB to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bankers meetings. The Dutch elections are close and the weekend news may help Wilder and his Freedom Party. The French elections are close with LePen and Macron seemingly tied in the first round. The US Ceiling issue is coming to the fore as the debt nears $20trn and hits March 15th and US Treasury Mnuchin called on Congressional leaders to lift the limit as soon as possible. Throw in the fact that winter isn’t over and Tuesday we may have a Blizzard hit from Washington DC to New York to Boston and you have the usual gloom of March.