Interesting title to say the least:



Chris Wood: "It Will Take A Political Genius To Hold The EU Together", Italy Is The Flash Point




CLSA's Chris Wood, author of the popular Greed and Fear newsletter, chimes in on the consequences for Brexit with a note titled "Disintegration Dynamic" in which he focuses not so much on Britain as Italy and specifically the proposed Italian bailout which was first reported here and which circumvents European bailout rules, however which Renzi hopes will pass as a result of scapegoating Brexit (even if Angela Merkel was quick to shut down). 
This is what he says, excerpted:  
GREED & fear continues to believe that the real flash point in the EU is likely to be Italy. GREED & fear was reminded of this reading this week that Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is now seeking Europe’s agreement for a €40bn state-funded recapitalisation of the country’s banking system. This would seem in conflict with the EU’s new rules that taxpayer money cannot be used for bank bailouts before bank shareholders and, critically, bank bondholders are first bailed in. The tricky point here is that 29% of Italian bank bonds were still owned by retail depositors as at the end of 2015 (see Figure 1).

This Italian issue was discussed in more detail here a few months ago (see GREED & fear - The Eurozone and newborn economics, 3 March 2016). Renzi is doubtless hoping that the market turmoil created by Brexit, or at least the sense of political crisis, creates the pressure for Berlin and Brussels to agree to a breaking of the new rules. But if Berlin does agree to such a concession it will strengthen the electoral appeal of eurosceptics within Germany, just as further debt relief for Greece would - and the eurosceptics, primarily in the form of the AfD in Germany, have enjoyed a surge of support ever since last summer’s refugee crisis. Indeed Renzi’s plan has reportedly already been rebuffed by Frau Merkel and ECB board member Benoit Coeure.

The conclusion from all of the above is that it will take a political genius to hold the EU together in the next few years. And geniuses are in short supply. In this sense Brexit will only have accelerated something that was going to happen anyway.
Meanwhile, from a market standpoint, to repeat the point made here already, Brexit will serve as an excuse by G7 policymakers to accelerate the next wave of easing which in GREED & fear’s view is likely to be some form of monetisation of fiscal stimulus. Logically, this should only happen after the November US presidential election. But if markets are bad enough it can happen before.





The U.S. has accused Russia of intentionally interfering with its Navy operations. 
New video released by Russia shows the moment that a Russian frigate, the Neustrashimyy, and the U.S. Navy’s USS Gravely crossed paths in the eastern Mediterranean two weeks ago. Russia’s defense ministry claimed the U.S. ship made a “dangerous approach” on its warship, saying it “grossly breached” international maritime laws. The ministry said the U.S. sailors were “allowing themselves to forget about the fundamental principles of safe sailing” and didn’t think about the potential consequences of their dangerous maneuver. 
But U.S. officials told a very different version of events and they said the video is a clever piece of editing by the Russians. 
U.S. officials stated that the USS Gravely was escorting the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman on June 17 when a Russian frigate approached it in an “unsafe and unprofessional” manner. 
The officials said that when the incident began, the frigate was two nautical miles from the American destroyer and flying the international signal flags that indicate a ship is restricted in its ability to maneuver. But then, according to the officials, the Russian frigate contacted the U.S. destroyer by radio, repeatedly asking it to maintain a safe distance while at the same time allegedly maneuvering to get closer to the USS Gravely. 
One official said the Russian ship would follow in and out of the American ship’s wake. As the destroyer changed course and speed, so did the Russian ship, which the officials said indicates that it was able to maneuver, counter to the signals the Russian ship was flying. They accused the Russian ship of intentionally displaying a false international signal. 
Officials said that their assessment is that the Russian ship was trying to intentionally interfere with the aircraft carrier’s operations. 
“We are following up on this incident through appropriate military discussion channels with the Russians,” Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza, a Defense Department spokesperson, told ABC News in a statement Tuesday. 
Captain Danny Hernandes, spokesman for the U.S. European Command, said in a statement that he fears the incident will "escalate tensions" between the two countries. 
“We have deep concerns about the unsafe and unprofessional Russian ship maneuvers and this most recent incident comes on the heels of other unsafe air and naval incidents on the part of the Russian military,” he said. “These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries, and could result in a miscalculation or accident which results in serious injury or death.” 

Russian Fighters Buzz US Navy Destroyer at Close Range in Baltic Sea, US Says
Russian Fighter Jet Buzzes U.S. Air Force Reconnaissance Plane Within 50 Feet
Russian Fighter Flew a Barrel Roll Within 25 Feet of US Reconnaissance Plane Over Baltic Sea
This is far from the first time the U.S. and Russians have butted heads over military encounters. 
In April, the Pentagon accused Russian aircraft of engaging in “unsafe and unprofessional” behavior on three separate occasions. 
In one instance, a Russian fighter jet performed a barrel roll within 25 feet of a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea. In another, a Russian jet buzzed a similar U.S. plane within 50 feet. 
The first incident that month lasted over two days, with two Russian SU-25 fighter jets buzzing the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Donald Cook more than 30 times. 
Photo stills and video of the encounters released by U.S. European Command showed how low the Russian fighters were flying, with one pass coming within 30 feet of the destroyer.




A spacecraft launched into orbit by the Chinese space agency this week will be the first piece of technology aimed at tackling the growing problem of space debris, according to the Chinese government.
But experts have warned the trash-clearing robot could may have been deployed for more nefarious ends, saying it could be poised to take out communications satellites.
While China’s space agency (CNSA), a branch of the military, has said the craft is aimed at collecting potentially hazardous debris, analysts have said it could remain dormant until needed in wartime situation.

China’s space agency (CNSA) has said a prototype craft launched aboard the Long March 7 rocket last week (pictured) aimed at collecting potentially hazardous debris, analysts have said it could remain dormant until needed in wartime situation
The secretive CNSA confirmed the robotic probe was launched into orbit on Saturday aboard the Long March 7 rocket, along with a test crew capsule, satellite refuelling and other technology.
It is the first known attempt to track and collect unwanted trash in space.
Called Aolong-1, the craft is reportedly fitted with a robotic arm and will be a technological test of CNSA's ability to remove 'non-cooperative' targets from orbit.
While such targets would be limited to space trash and defunct satellites, there are concerns the military technology could easily be targeted at other nations' military or communications satellites and spacecraft.




The name of Jesus is under assault; Colorado Springs wants to remove an ad with ‘Jesus is Lord’ citing hate speech but in reality it is a violation of Christians’ first amendment rights.
Violating the rights of every American is one thing, but to systematically attack one faith the way the United States government has in recent years; showcases the events prescribed in the End of Days as the Bible states.
Christians in Colorado Springs, have just about lost their First Amendment Rights. The Charis Christian Center ran an ad which reads ‘Jesus is Lord’ for the past three years. But because of ONE single complaint from a resident; the city will potentially no longer allow the word ‘Jesus’ to be used in advertisements. The city claims it is because ‘Jesus’ invites hate messaging.
The move by the city is not about removing the entire advertisement. There is one blatant word which the city seeks to eliminate; Jesus. A steady yet alarming trend is taking place all over the world; the attack on Christians far and wide, with America leading the way.
The move could eventually disallow public use of the name, Jesus, because it is a public transit service. Which means anyone can advertise, but limiting a certain faith does violate the constitution because citizens have to practice the religion of their choice. The issue is so much greater than an advertisement because similar situations are happening all around the country.

Lawson Perdue, the pastor of Charis Christian Center in Colorado Springs, states that he is ready to fight, and that a national law firm has agreed to take their case. Interestingly enough, if it turns out that the name of JESUS must be removed from the ad; where does it stop?
The general definition of public, is that it is open to anyone in the citizenry; but what will happen if they remove the name of Jesus from advertising?

It all starts with the definition of advertisement; “a notice or announcement in a public medium promoting a product, service, or event or publicizing a job vacancy.” The definition is clear, that this will not stop at just this sign. An announcement, or notice means many different things. An announcement is speaking, and a notice means any title, description, and so on.
What will happen if the city disallows this one advertisement to showcase the name of Jesus is the complete removal of speaking of Jesus publicly. How? Speaking of Jesus on the streets, online, or anywhere deemed public could potentially be viewed as advertising. A building with the name of Jesus will potentially get viewed as an advertisement as well. It never stops at just one case, because each case further determines how the law gets interpreted. This particular case has the ability to go on a national scale, and could potentially, eventually mean Christians far and wide lose their rights to speak of the name of Jesus Christ the Savior.
Is this all “ifs” and “maybes?” Absolutely not, every city has some sort of an incident where Christians are being disallowed their rights to either publicly preach, or to publicly display the name of Jesus because individuals are getting “offended.”