Major averages finished higher on lower, pre-holiday volume. This piece sent out earlier this past weekend discusses 6 signs the QE-induced sovereign debt bubble is weighing on this tired bull market. But as it was stated in the piece, bubbles can grow to monstrous proportions before bursting, so it is best not to try to predict such events, but rather to maintain a fluid approach since this bull market could continue longer than anyone expects.
On Sunday, North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, stepping up pressure on President Donald Trump. In a televised statement, North Korea described the underground explosion, which triggered a large earthquake, as a “perfect success in the test of a hydrogen bomb for an ICBM.” Pyongyang said “the creditability of the operation of the nuclear warhead is fully guaranteed.” The test came just hours after leader Kim Jong Un showed off what he described as a hydrogen bomb capable of being mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile. This drew strong condemnation from world leaders. In addition, there are indications that DPRK might conduct its 13th missile test of 2017 during the upcoming weekend.
Over in China, their central bank, the People's Bank of China, declared initial coin offerings or ICOs illegal. ICOs are initial coin offerings, the equivalent of stock IPOs. The PBOC said it will punish future offerings and penalize ones that have been already completed. Some believe this is China's move to regulate the cryptospace but to completely prevent ICOs would sideline China in an exponentially growing area. South Korea has also moved to strengthen regulation of cryptocurrencies. Similar decisions to regulate or hamper growth in the cryptospace have been ongoing since 2010, but resolutions and compromises have always been achieved. It was January of this year that China threatened to prevent trading of bitcoin on its exchanges. Corrections of as much as 90% in the space have been common since 2010 but with resolutions and compromises, the cryptospace has always managed to reach new highs after plumbing new depths. Bitcoin itself has "died" well over a hundred times since 2010: https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoin-obituaries/