What is most important is that the crisis is coming and the time to prepare is now. It could happen in 2018, 2019, or it could happen tomorrow. Likely triggers could include a major bank failure, a failure to deliver physical gold, a war, a natural disaster, a cyber–financial attack… Source: MarketWatch
- South Korea’s economy unexpectedly shrank in the first quarter, marking its worst performance since the global financial crisis;
- The contraction reinforced financial market views that the central bank is likely to make a U-turn on policy, shifting to an easing stance and possibly cutting interest rates.
Poland and Germany have suspended imports of Russian oil via a major pipeline, citing poor quality, triggering a rare crisis over supply from the world’s second-largest crude exporter. Source: The Moscow Times
The European People’s Party candidate for the next European Commission president, Manfred Weber, says he will block the construction of a Russian gas pipeline should he win the race to replace Jean Claude-Juncker. Source: EU Observer
