Stocks were fine much of the week due to the ongoing "to the moon" A.I. narrative and rampant momentum buying. However, things came to a screeching halt on Friday, once the "adults in the room" (i.e. bond investors) started to run for cover with inflation soaring higher and becoming ever-more entrenched. Friday was firmly risk off, and now the question is what will happen next week? What if buy-the-dip investors go on strike? I don't even want to imagine that!!

All four major central banks held their policy rates steady last week, but all of them also had a hawkish bias. Earnings continued to be supportive of higher stock prices, with five of the Mag 7 companies all beating on the top and bottom lines. Yields were higher as bonds got hammered, thanks to ongoing concerns regarding higher oil-induced inflation. There is no end in sight to the Iran-U.S. conflict.

Stocks added to monthly gains, except in Europe where stocks lost ground. US Treasury yields were higher, as bonds lost ground. Oil prices increased double digits again, as the US-Iran conflict seems no closer to resolution.

Silicon Valley Bank went from fine to dead in less than 48 hours. Why and how? Could it have been prevented? What now?

The Federal Reserve is in the early stages of reducing its balance sheet, or quantitative tightening ("QT").

FOREX is in the news, especially as many think the USD has reached its peak and is at an inflection point. What drives FOREX? Read on.

The decade 2010-20 involved a very hands-on approach by the Fed to steer the US economy out of a deep recession. What lessons can be learnt

It is fashionable to espouse the end of the US dollar as the leading global reserve currency, but this will not occur anytime soon.

The bond market looks to be doing the Fed's dirty work, sending short term yields to post-pandemic highs. Is the Fed being too methodical?