If you want to know the likely result of France’s presidential election runoff 10 days from now (May 7), just look at how the markets responded. The euro and the French markets both jumped dramatically.

And this has nothing to do with the underlying strength of the sclerotic, unionized, statist, overtaxed, unproductive French economy or, indeed, with the future of the doomed euro.

It was simply a case of the status quo breathing a sigh of relief that it was going to be business as usual, after all: Emmanuel Macron, the de facto Establishment candidate is now pretty much a shoo-in for the French presidency; his rival, Marine Le Pen doesn’t stand a prayer – of that the Establishment will make sure.

That is, Emmanuel Macron is going to win this presidency because it was decided long ago by France’s Establishment that he was the least-worst option of the candidates available.

The fact that he is a hollow man – a slippery, snake-oil-salesman with a winning smile and nice suits – who will do almost nothing seriously to address France’s massive social and economic problems is a help, not a hindrance.

Emmanuel Macron, you see, is the left-leaning French Establishment’s Manchurian Candidate – the French Obama.  The parallels will astound you.

The Le Pen challenge of 2017 is dead. Emmanuel Macron will have no trouble erecting a ‘cordon sanitaire’ to keep her Front National at bay in round two of the French elections on May 7.

The existential threat hanging over Europe’s monetary union has for now been lifted. Markets have instantly pocketed the reprieve. The spread between French 10-year bonds and German Bunds has dropped to ‘pre-populism’ levels of just over 40 basis points.

The celebration may be short-lived. “France is going to be very difficult to govern,” observes Eric Dor from the IESEG school of management in Lille.  You can’t put it more mildly than that.

“The National Assembly [French Parliament] may be badly Balkanized and nobody knows whether Macron will have a working majority. The fear is that France could lose another five years,” he says.  Just five years?  How about forever?

Livonia, Michigan is known as Little Palestine. The Detroit suburb is famous for its anti-Israel meetings. You could go hear Mustafa Barghouthi, Omar Barghouti and Ali Abunimah without taking a long drive.

It’s also known for its shady doctors.

Dr. Murtaza Hussain was busted for letting unlicensed employees diagnose patients and write prescriptions. Dr. Waseem Alam and Dr. Hatem Ataya pleaded guilty in the nation’s largest Medicare fraud case totaling $712 million in false billings centering on Shahid Tahir, Muhammad Tariq and Manavar Javed’s Livonia medical firms.

But what was going on at one Livonia clinic was far worse than the theft of millions. Anyone passing by at the right time could hear the screams of little girls.

We think of horrors like Female Genital Mutilation as a terrible thing that happens over “there.”  Now, as American towns and cities are reshaped by Moslem migration, “there” is now right here. The terrible practice has come to America.

The Great Barrier Reef is dead. It has ceased to be, expired and gone to meet its maker, kicked the bucket, shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and gone to join the bleedin’ choir invisible. It is an Ex Great Barrier Reef.

Well, at least it is if you believe the left-wing media such as the Guardian or the New York Times, which claims that the reef is at “terminal stage” because of damage allegedly caused by “climate change.”

Lots of eco loons have been rending their garments and throwing their (recyclable, organic, gluten-free) toys out of the pram in horror at this hideous disaster.

But it’s OK.  The Great Barrier Reef isn’t in the remotest danger.  Here’s why.

On Tuesday (4/18) to the surprise of many, British Prime Minister Theresa May called for an early or “snap” General Parliamentary Election.  It was a very smart move.

Assuming – as does most everyone – that her Conservative Party wins a landslide victory on June 8,  Theresa May will be the only leader of a major EU state with a crushing mandate and the backing of a unified parliamentary phalanx.

All others will be in varying states of internal disarray. None will have a workable majority in their parliaments. Bitter internal disputes will continue to fester over the loss of democratic control under monetary union, whether or not euroskeptic parties actually come to power.

This gives the Prime Minister formidable clout. We have moved a long way from the first chaotic weeks after the Brexit referendum last June. The tables have since turned.

Britain will enter the Brexit talks led by an ancient and disciplined party of great governing credibility, while grave discord lies on the other side of the Channel, whether in France, Germany, Italy or elsewhere.

The biggest loser from last week’s cruise-missile strikes on a Syrian air base wasn’t “President” Bashar al-Assad. It was Vladimir Putin.

The Syrian leader was punished, but Russia’s new czar was humiliated.

Even with an hour’s warning of the attacks, Putin’s military in Syria did nothing to defend its ally. For all of the Russian bluster in recent years, Putin couldn’t stop our strikes.

His military lacked the means to do so. And any attempt to interfere with our operation would only have revealed the inferior quality of Russian armaments — including their much-ballyhooed air defense systems.

This is vitally important, because Putin used his military leap into Syria to show that Russia was a reliable ally at a time when US policy was timid, incompetent and flighty under President Barack Obama. Russia looked strong. We didn’t.

But the wave of cruise missiles unleashed on Syria called Putin’s bluff. And Russia didn’t dare to lift a finger.

It gets better.

Lake Como, Italy.  The world's leading currency institute is bracing for a dramatic rise in the US dollar as the Federal Reserve rushes to tighten monetary policy, setting the stage for a protectionist showdown and a fresh debt crisis in emerging markets.

Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says investors have badly misjudged the confluence of forces at work in Washington.

They wrongly assume that fiscal stimulus will come to little under Donald Trump, and are equally wrong that Janet Yellen Fed's will remain dovish as the US nears full employment.

"We expect the dollar to rise by another 10% to 15%. The concern is that this will suck capital out of the more fragile emerging markets and lead to fresh capital outflows from China," Mr. Posen said in his speech at the Como Forum for international economists.  It will greatly exacerbate the already massive problems that are sucking the life-blood out of the Chinese economy.