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The trifecta has emerged: just as expected, the link between Syrian refugees, ISIS, and Terrorism has now been set in stone.

While the saying goes "good fences make good neighbors," it appears the leadership of The EU is starting to get frustrated with the lack of acquiescence among some of the 'union's' newer or more marginal members. In a somewhat stunning statement, following ongoing and contentious meetings to discuss solutions to the migrant 'problem', EU Commissioner Timmermanns appeared to warn disagreeable member states, "There is an alternative to everything. I believe in EU cooperation because of all other forms in history have been tried to help Europeans get on better, and with the exception of this one, all other forms have led to war - so let's stick to this one."

There's been no shortage of discussion about the weather among economists this year as "snow in the winter" took the blame for a bevy of bad data in H1 while summer is Citi's new scapgoat for any weakness in August and September payrolls. Meanwhile, unseasonably mild temps took the fall for poor October retail sales and now, going into the winter, it's all about El Nino.

In the next financial crisis, physical gold held outside the banking system in safe vaults in safe jurisdictions will prove to be a “financial cushion” to individuals, companies, pension funds, family offices,  and indeed nations.

It appears "Likes" just were not innovative enough after all...

If there were any questions if the US consumer was merely "strong" or "quite strong", after the abysmal results from Macy's first, and moments ago, Nordstrom, they should all be safely swept away now.

Gold bullion coin and bar demand surged in Q3 as gold’s continuing COMEX driven price weakness in July and sharp falls in stock markets in China and globally in August saw store of wealth buyers internationally again accumulate bullion.

"This court simply cannot, and will not, allow the government to trump the Constitution merely because it suits the exigencies of the moment,”

Now that there are "no taboos," and assuming the ECB doesn't take our advice on the '52 Mantles or the lumber, the only question is whether the central bank will pair a depo rate cut with the PSPP expansion (in whatever form it takes)....

It is important to note that the current weakness of gold is primarily in dollar and sterling terms. For investors in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the EU gold is once again acting as a hedge.

It's not HFTs; It's not global orchestrated central bank intervention in "markets"; it is not even confirmed manipulation of virtually every asset class by the Too Big To Prosecute banks, who instead of doing research spent time colluding in anonymous chat rooms how to manipulate everything from FX, to Treasurys, to gold. No: according to the SEC what is truly broken with the markets, and why two-thirds of Millennials have lost faith in stocks, are short sellers "manipulating" stock prices on twitter.

A suspect was in custody this morning for making online threats to shoot black students at the University of Missouri following the racial protests that prompted the school's president and chancellor to step down this week, campus police said. The announcement followed a post on the social media app Yik Yak on Tuesday, tagged for the college town Columbia. The posting read: "I'm going to stand my ground tomorrow and shoot every black person I see."

A victory for common-sense? Who knows anymore. But following the disgusting debacle on Mizzou's campus yesterday, Melissa Click - the media professor who incited mob violence against a reporter who was doing his job - has reportedly resigned. As NYTimes reports, Click noted in a statement, "I regret the language and strategies I used," which we suspect, roughly translated, means "I regret being caught bullying a reporter." The university seems to be distancing itself from Click, noting that her position was a "courtesy appointment."

• GOP debate winners and losers (Hill)
• European Stocks Rise as Dollar Weakens; Metals Decline on China (BBG)
• Global shares shrug off mixed China data, copper teeters near six-year low (Reuters)
• Fed's Evans: Looking forward to time when Fed can raise rates (Reuters)
• Alibaba’s Global Ambitions Face Counterfeit Challenge (WSJ)
• China Rebalancing Takes Hold as Output Slows, Retail Jumps (BBG)