Family Time.

First of all, the verdict is in when it comes to separating families at the border and throwing migrant toddlers in cages – suffice to say the consensus is it’s a bad idea.

There was Jamie Dimon, who said he “strongly” agrees with the Business Roundtable’s (which Dimon chairs) statement regarding the administration’s misguided policy of separating children from parents. Essentially, that amounts to Dimon calling the policy “cruel and contrary to American values”. He also said his “heart goes out to the impacted families.”

Lloyd Blankfein isn’t feelin’ it either:

BLANKFEIN: IT'S A MORAL IMPERATIVE TO STOP SEPARATING FAMILIES

folks are generally averse when it comes to confessed pussy grabbers pseudo-kidnapping migrant children and holding them in cages for billions in border wall ransom money.

— Heisenberg Report (@heisenbergrpt) June 20, 2018

Kirstjen Nielsen may as well just go ahead and throw in the towel, because she’s never going to recover from this. Here’s a sample of what the internet thinks:

https://twitter.com/Marmel/status/1009077874572214279

If this weren’t true, you’d think it was from The Onion:

"the press we're getting is tremendous"… pic.twitter.com/IWIm8ZOBdi

— Heisenberg Report (@heisenbergrpt) June 20, 2018

And speaking of The Onion, they’re still trying even though satire is dead in Trump’s world:

Stephen Miller Furious At ProPublica For Only Releasing 7-Minute Recording Of Immigrant Children Sobbing https://t.co/YO5Krj371a pic.twitter.com/2c0aeDMim2

— The Onion (@TheOnion) June 19, 2018

So, under pressure to do exactly what he claimed he couldn’t do, Trump has decided to end this crazy shit:

Trump says he will sign executive order today to keep migrant families together #tictocnews pic.twitter.com/jVoc0s7ZVz

— Bloomberg Originals (@bbgoriginals) June 20, 2018

Do keep in mind that he claimed that wasn’t possible before today, so you know, more lies.

Markets were generally listless, searching for direction in an environment where earnings, the domestic economy and buybacks argue for more gains while geopolitics, domestic politics and valuation argue for caution.

Equities were mixed to marginally higher across countries, although in the U.S., tech shares managed to post a substantial gain, with the Nasdaq hitting a new record along with Facebook and Netflix:

Fresh all-time high for the Russell as well:

Does this mean we’re “winning”?…

“America first”:

Oil chopped around all over the place, caught between inventory data (surprise draw in gasoline and a larger crude draw than anticipated) and of course, OPEC headlines.

The dollar: sideways.

Note this from Luke, who is apparently back at the desk after being on vacation for roughly 24 years:

Post 2015 deval, relatively decent inverse relationship between 1M USDCNH implied vol & the S&P 500. Last two years: not much "there" there. pic.twitter.com/iqkSnu2Yxx

— Luke Kawa (@LJKawa) June 20, 2018

Emerging markets are in trouble. You know that. Things took a (rare) turn for the better on Wednesday. “Emerging–markets sovereigns are on course for their best day in more than a month after yesterday’s trade jitters,” Bloomberg’s Sebastian Boyd wrote this afternoon, adding “there are a few factors that could extend the rally — a favorable MSCI decision on Saudi Arabia and Argentina, a more stable Argentine peso, a hawkish Copom statement in Brazil.”

Still, trade tension, the ever-hawkish Fed and the stronger dollar are daunting hurdles. EM FX snapped a six-session losing streak, but here’s what the big picture looks like:

Note the egregious slide in the USD EM bond ETF. When it comes to local currency debt, Bloomberg notes that someone made a giant trade on Wednesday, dumping 19 million shares in EMLC or some $320 million worth:

In a separate note, the above-mentioned Boyd notes that “the spread between the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. High Yield and Emerging Markets Aggregate indexes is the narrowest since 2014 [and while] EM is outperforming today, another couple of days like yesterday and Monday will send it to the narrowest since 2005.”

Finally, for your moment of zen…

'Perhaps I'd Rather Be Strong': President @realDonaldTrump Says Country Will Be 'Overrun' if He's Weak on Immigration https://t.co/QExYvsWODR pic.twitter.com/7OjHgDm83p

— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 20, 2018