So... It's Been Powell and Yellen the Whole Time (And the Week in Review)

Japan remains a challenge... investors are worried about tariffs... but Treasury policy has caught up... and will make it a challenge in the second quarter.

Dear Reader:

This recent market selloff felt much bigger than the numbers suggest.

The Friday afternoon rally cleaned up most of the losses on the week.

Funny how that happens.

Something is off in this environment.

I’ve covered Japan’s ongoing banking challenges (and the media no longer discusses the four-sigma event last August).

I also noted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s ongoing challenges. We have new commentary to explain what Bessent faces and how that will impact the markets in the weeks and months ahead.

We return to Michael Howell's analysis and find additional support in Noriel Roubini's economic analysis from last year.

Howell’s measurement of Global Liquidity (which I always advise people to read) is moving higher.

Falling interest rates should be positive for the broader markets, such as injecting capital into the system and improving liquidity multiple times.

However, investors are taking a different approach, as evidenced by the sharp drop in Bitcoin prices over the l…