Unexplained Actions
The Netherlands heads to the polls CNBC - March 15, 2017
A guide to the Netherlands' big election Washington Post - March 15, 2017
Today's elections in the Netherlands are the first test for the far right on the continent this year. Dutch polls opened in another test of anti-establishment sentiment. The voting comes amid a rising anti-immigrant, anti-Islam populism in Europe. On Tuesday, the E.U.'s highest court ruled that companies could ban the wearing of head scarves by female employees at work. 'Dutch Trump' Geert Wilders has put the Netherlands in the global spotlight, by pledging to de-Islamize his country.
The upcoming French elections, meanwhile, continue to be marked by scandal. Republican nominee Francois Fillon was placed under formal investigation Tuesday on multiple counts, including embezzlement of public funds. He is accused of paying his wife and children for work they did not do. Fillon was already under pressure to stand down as a nominee, and those calls will likely get louder now. And he's not the only one: Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, a Trump supporter and a front-runner, is also under scrutiny after several members of her staff were accused by officials of being paid for non-existent jobs. She is also under inquiry for violent images she sent on Twitter of ISIS killings.
US - Today, we should know if the FBI is investigating ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. FBI Director James Comey will discuss whether an investigation exists, and if so, its scope. For some reason, this seems like another one of those Trump moments where his mistakes will change nothing and for now be let go. It goes to somebody somewhere allowing Trump to stay in office no matter what. I personally think he and his staff are clueless as to how he gets away with things in such an unprecedented way. God is certainly not watching over him .... but somebody sure is.
The Federal Reserve is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate today. Credit card holders will most likely be the first to feel the effects.
