Leaving aside the defeat in the World Cup, last week was good for the US. Auto sales and US jobs data were stronger than expected. These provided a nice sedative for some anxiety over the steep contraction in Q1 and the decline in real consumption in April and May. On the other hand, the euro zone PMIs were, well, meh. The ECB continues to emphasize its policy divergence from the US, though it will take on more organizational qualities, like meetings every six weeks rather than monthly, some record to be published afterward, and a modest rotation of central bank voting, as the Federal Reserve/ A collapse in overall ... (full story)