USA - We are in the midst of watching the subprime auto lending bubble burst in its entirety. Smaller subprime auto lenders are starting to implode, and we all know what comes next: the larger companies go bust, inciting real capitulation ...smaller subprime lenders are starting to simply implode after being faced with losses and defaults. In addition to losses and defaults, Bloomberg reported this morning that there have been allegations of fraud and under reporting losses… The continued focus on borrowing and spending, instead of saving and underconsumption, will ensure not only that these bubbles continue to happen going forward, but they will get larger in size as time progresses.

RUSSIA - Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said the country is considering an option of payments for oil in national currencies, in particular with Turkey and Iran. According to him, both countries are interested but there is also a matter of conversion of currencies and their further use. “There is a common understanding that we need to move towards the use of national currencies in our settlements. There is a need for this, as well as the wish of the parties,” Novak said.

ISRAEL - Beyond the confrontation between Russia and the United States, the main story in the northern arena is the direct confrontation between Israel and Iran on Syrian soil. There is no more shadow war or contest through agents. The confrontation between Israel and Iran, it seems, is turning into a limited direct military confrontation. Israel has decided to remove the gloves. In the coming days, preparedness in the north of Israel is likely to be particularly high, given the possibility of retaliatory action from the Syrian side, and the chance of an American strike on Syria following their use of chemical weapons. At the same time, it has to be remembered that in less than a month, the US may withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Iran, making it irrelevant.

CHINA - China will not be easily cowed in a trade dispute... it’s worth noting China has a nuclear option. I’m referring to rare earth metals. These are elements like dysprosium, neodymium, gadolinium, and ytterbium. They aren’t actually rare, but they do play crucial roles in everything from smart phones to electric car motors, hard drives, wind turbines, military radar, smart bombs, laser guidance, and more. They’re also quite difficult to mine and process.

CHINA - While the main event this week will be the official start of the Q1 earning season which is expected to blockbuster, if mainly at the EPS level thanks to Trump's corporate tax cut... the biggest risk overhang remains the escalating trade war with China, and specifically Beijing's retaliation to the unexpected Trump escalation in which he told the USTR to consider an additional $100 BILLION in tariffs for a $150 BILLION total.

CHINA - China is evaluating the potential impact of a gradual yuan depreciation, people familiar with the matter said, as the country’s leaders weigh their options in a trade spat with US President Donald Trump that has roiled financial markets worldwide. Senior Chinese officials are studying a two-pronged analysis of the yuan that was prepared by the government, the people said. One part looks at the effect of using the currency as a tool in trade negotiations with the US, while a second part examines what would happen if China devalues the yuan to offset the impact of any trade deal that curbs exports. “It seems as if Beijing is showing the full extent of policies they could deploy,” said Viraj Patel, a strategist at ING Bank NV in London.

CHINA - On Friday, we reported that among the five "nuclear" options available to Beijing to retaliate against Trump's latest $100 billion in proposed import tariffs, was the choice whether to sell US Treasuries. But what if Beijing did not want to unleash a full-blown market nuke, and instead was hoping for a targeted EMP hit? Then it would simply stop buying US paper, instead of dumping it outright; in the process it wouldn't hurt the US too much - avoiding a furious tit-for-tat response - but would still send a clear signal to the White House, whose fiscal spending plan will more than double net Treasury issuance this year from under $500 billion to over $1 trillion, and which needs every possible marginal buyer of US paper, both domestic and foreign.

USA - The Republican overhaul of America's tax code and increased government spending are projected to boost economic growth to 3.3 percent this year but push the national debt to nearly the same size as gross domestic product by 2028, according to government data released Monday. "Such high and rising debt would have serious negative consequences for the budget and for the nation," the CBO report said.

SYRIA - The White Helmets, which claim to be an impartial NGO, saving civilians in war-torn Syria, have repeatedly been busted using false videos of their daily rescue operations. The Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, has published several clips and pictures, showing the alleged aftermath of the chemical attack in the city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta.

GERMANY - A traditionalist branch of the German Christian Democratic Union wants to throw over their longtime leader, Chancellor Angela Merkel. They are to begin with a “conservative manifesto,” demanding a return to Christian values.

FINLAND - With the launch of its first direct cargo train link to China last week, Finland became the first Nordic country to establish itself as a node in China’s emerging New Silk Road trade network. The new rail link, connecting the southeastern Finnish city of Kouvola with Xi’an and Zhengzhou in central China, is the fastest among the many similar connections opened between China and Europe in recent years. It only takes ten days for trains from Kouvola to travel the 8,000km route through Russia and Kazakhstan to Xi’an. The direct transportation route to China’s fast-developing central regions is expected to offer new business opportunities for companies in Finland, as well as other Nordic and European countries.

USA - A string of powerful earthquakes have rocked the west and central US with several of them hitting near to the dreaded RING OF FIRE. Some eight earthquakes have rocked the United States in quick succession, all of which have taken place on April 9. The strongest of the earthquakes, and also the most recent, came in Perry, Oklahoma, when a 4.3 magnitude tremor hit the central US state. Since midnight, there have also been earthquakes in Alaska, Nebraska, Texas and three in California. Both California and Alaska sit on the deadly Ring of Fire – the largest and most active fault line in the world, stretching from New Zealand, all around the east coast of Asia, over to Canada and the USA and all the way down to the southern tip of South America – which causes more than 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes.

USA - The Marxist authoritarians who run Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube, and every other major social media can claim all they want that their platforms are free, open, fair, and accessible to all, but they continue to prove almost on a daily basis what horrible liars they are. And I’ll take that one step further: If you’re a conservative and you are in the public square — as a publisher, an entertainer, a writer, or part of the academic commentariat — you’re going to be banned at some point from all of your social media accounts. That’s because at some point you’re going to drop a massive truth bomb that the Marxist snowflakes don’t like and they’re just going to ban you out of spite, hatred, disgust, etc. The Left doesn’t really believe in freedom and liberty for everybody.

RUSSIA - Thirty years ago Wall Street slid into the abyss, suffering the biggest one-day market fall of over 22 percent. Since then the Dow Jones has risen from 1,738 points to an all-time high of over 23,000, raising fears another historic crash is on the cards. RT talked to Keiser Report host Max Keiser about the root causes of the 1987 crash and the possibilities of another market meltdown.

USA - This week’s dramatic stock market sell-off has raised concerns of an impending bear market, which, according to legendary investor Jim Rogers, will be more catastrophic than any other market downturn that he has lived through. “When we have a bear market again, and we are going to have a bear market again, it will be the worst in our lifetime,” Rogers told Bloomberg.