The Morning Read

Good morning, folks. Here are some reads to start the day.

• Russia orders soldiers in military drills back to their bases - WSJ
• China's currency move leads to liquidity boost - WSJ
• President Xi's anti-corruption campaign biggest since Mao - Bloomberg
• Insurers will destroy themselves to nudge us into robot utopia - Alphaville

"If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties."

-Francis Bacon

"Just kidding, guys! It was only a military exercise that we've been planning for months; it had nothing to do with our horse losing power in Ukraine. But we're staying in Crimea. That's ours."

 That's the message the world received from Vladimir Putin early this morning. I don't think that anyone believes a single word of it - I definitely do not.

European markets have rejoiced at the easing of tensions - the Euro STOXX 50 is up 2.25% this morning, led higher by the FTSE (+1.52%) and the DAX (+2.11%). The relief has trickled into the US as well. S&P futures are currently trading 21.00 points higher, with Dow futures higher by +179 and Nasdaq rounding out the action at +43.25. I very much hope you were able to buy the dip yesterday; I am very pleased by the latest developments.

I apologize for the abbreviated nature of today's morning read. I have some non-market related appointments to tend to this morning, so I will spend much of the early part of the day away from the desk.

The shorts still cannot win at present. I will be keeping my exposure to the long-side of things. Heads, I'm right on the money. Tails, I'm not, but I'll get there anyway. Put the odds in your favor, my friends.