Main News From The Rollercoaster Weekend: Trump, North Korea, Brazil, Brexit
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
May 21, 2017
It was supposed to be a relatively quiet weekend, after what may have been the most dramatic, “turmoily” week for political and market news in years. It wasn’t.
As traders start focusing on the coming week, the weekend generated several key geopolitical headlines which will provide buzz – and potentially volatility – on Monday morning. Below, courtesy of Citi, is a recap of this weekend’s major developments, focusing on the ongoing Trump-Russia investigations, the latest North Korea missile launch, the latest political scandal in Brazil and renewed confusion around Brexit.
North Korea
North Korea has fired another ballistic missile, according to various news agencies. South Korea first reported the test and according to BBC, “the White House said the medium-range missile had a shorter range than those used in North Korea’s last three tests.”
Being specific, BBC says this missile flew 560km (350 miles) towards the Sea of Japan versus last week’s range of 700km.
Keep in mind the latter missile test has been a source of concern among major world powers, given that its range represents some technology advancement on North Korea’s behalf and because North Korea has claimed this particular missile can hold a nuclear warhead.
Trump
Former FBI Director James Comey will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in a public hearing sometime after Memorial Day. CNN reported this late Friday citing a Senate statement.
CNN also ran a story over the weekend citing an unidentified source that Comey will indicate Trump tried to influence him. This is making top headlines but please do keep in mind that the validity of these claims is unknown.
The source seemingly tries to provide context to last week’s Comey transcript that some took to suggest Comey didn’t feel influences. It claims Comey had reached “no conclusion about the President’s intent before he was fired… But Comey did immediately recognize that the new President was not following normal protocols during their interactions.”
The father of Comey has also weighed in for a CNN interview.
J. Brien Comey believes his son’s firing last week “a Trump deal.” The 86-year old says: “[Comey] didn’t give him 100% loyalty, and he demands that of people who work with him. [Comey] said he would give 100% honesty, but not loyalty.”
On Saturday, the NYT reported that the Intelligence Committee is also seeking another testimony. “Michael Caputo, who served as a communications adviser to the Trump campaign, has been asked by the House committee investigating Russian election meddling to submit to a voluntary interview and to provide any documents he may have that are related to the inquiry.”
Other domestic headlines.
The Rest…HERE
