The Traderszone Network

When Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed recently in a US drone strike, we noted that experts cautioned that it would make local insurgents even less likely to participate in long-stalled peace efforts, and it would likely lead to an escalation of Taliban retaliation efforts.

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The US Gold Market is best known as the home of gold futures
trading on the COMEX in New York. The COMEX has a literal monopoly on gold
futures trading volumes worldwide, but very little physical gold is actually
exchanged between COMEX trading participants, and gold inventories maintained
in COMEX vaults in New York are extremely low. This COMEX Gold Futures Market
infographic guides you through the largest gold futures market in the world,
COMEX.

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Japan finance minister Aso on the wires
– PM Abe will make appropriate decision on sales tax
– Can’t comment on primary balance surplus goal
(On that ‘primary budget’ comment …. there will be scrutiny of any sales tax hike delay decision on how it impacts Japan’s deficit … I posted on this yesterday in the wrap.

In Open Market operations, PBOC inject 120bn yuan through the trusty 7-day reverse repo
Very slightly weaker onshore yuan setting today

– expected -1.5%, prior 3.8%
And for the y/y: -3.5%
– expected -5.0%, prior +0.2%

Earthquakes hit a southern manufacturing hub in Kyushu island in mid-April, forcing major companies to close factories. Nevertheless, preliminary data showing a beat

The debate continues to rage … consumer confidence or consumer sentiment?
– 0.4% above its long-run average

Overall Household Spending, unemployment rate and job to applicant ratio data, all for April 
Overall Household Spending y/y for April,  -0.4% y/y
– expected -1.3%, prior was -5.3%