One more time: It’s not Paris, Greece, China, Ebola, Fed rate-hike or not, etc... Nothing matters but OPEX...

Government and consumer watchdog groups have raised concerns about the ties between the Clinton Foundation, Canadian billionaire businessman Frank Giustra and the nation of Colombia. A charitable foundation running a private equity fund is "not something one hears about commonly" and is "very concerning," according to one watchdog group who say the practice is unusual and could pose a significant conflict of interest.

"And certain things will be done that we never thought would happen in this country in terms of information and learning about the enemy. And so we’re going to have to do certain things that were frankly unthinkable a year ago."

With 53% of Americans opposed to opening the nation’s borders to those fleeing the war-torn Middle Eastern nation, it is perhaps no surprise that The House just voted overwhelmingly to slap stringent - and difficult to implement - new screening procedures on refugees from Syria seeking resettlement. While 47 Democrats defied President Obama's; due to absences, the vote did not quite nullify the threat of veto, without which the bill would  effectively suspend the entry of refugees into the US for months or years.

UPDATE: All-Clear given.

If fearmongery was the goal, it appears to have been achieved. Police have reportedly shut down the 14th Street bridge in Washington D.C. in both directions after a package reportedly fell from a truck.

Having fallen for 20 straight days, crushing the hopes and dreams of the mid-year bounce - and thoroughly breaking down from seasonally positive tendencies - The Baltic Dry Freight Index has collapsed to all-time (back to 1984) record lows. As on shipping broker exclaimed, “This market is looking like a disaster and the rates are a reflection of that. It is looking scary for the market and it doesn’t look like there is going to be any life in the market in the near term.”

Moments ago, the in a 241-185 vote, the House passed passed H.R. 3189, aka  Fed Oversight Reform and Modernization Act. The bill would make changes to how the Fed conducts monetary policy and regulatory activities and would direct the Fed to take a rules-based approach to interest rate decisions; require audits of more Fed functions such as monetary policy; and place restrictions on its emergency lending powers. In other words, everything that the banks that are direct and indirect stakeholders in the Fed would fight to the death to prevent.