Here’s everything you need to know to start the week…
Craft Spirits: Following the boom in micro-breweries and craft beer, craft distillers have been reaping rewards of their own. In 2003, there were 60 craft distillers in the United States. Today, there’s more than 1,280 of them. That’s a 2,000% increase in just over a decade. And that doesn’t include the 200 distilleries that are currently under construction. Yet the market share of craft distillers is just 1.7% — a far cry from the 10% that recently shook the beer world.
Copper Continues Ascent: Copper prices jumped to a fresh three-year high this morning, rallying on bullish Chinese economic data. Copper was up 2.34% at $7,054 per tonne. As we noted last week, copper is among the best performing commodities. It was trading at less than $5,000 per tonne a year ago.
Going Nuclear: In a recent meeting with the nation’s highest-ranking national security leaders, President Donald Trump said he wanted a nearly tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. This is not the first time Trump has made such a demand. He’s repeatedly called to increase U.S. nuclear capabilities both before and after his inauguration.
“We’re never going to fall behind any country, even if it’s a friendly country, we’re never going to fall behind on nuclear power,” Trump has said. “It would be wonderful, a dream would be that no country would have nukes, but if countries are going to have nukes, we’re going to be at the top of the pack.”
The calls come as tensions with Iran and North Korea continue to escalate.
Crude Conflict: Oil prices are up to start the week, as Iraqi forces move to seize Kurdish oil fields. Kurdistan’s recent vote for independence has inflamed long-standing disputes between Baghdad and the semi-autonomous Kurdish government over land and oil. Brent crude rose 1.4% on the news to $57.97 a barrel. And U.S. oil futures are hovering near $52.
Brexit Breakdown: Brexit negotiations are heading for a catastrophic breakdown, as the UK and EU haggle over a new trade agreement to smooth the transition. Business leaders and policymakers say a transition plan must be outlined by the end of the year, or UK-based companies will start moving operations to mainland Europe. Thus, Germany and France have a vested interest in delaying progress in the Brexit talks.
