A 'melt down' scenario is somehow easier to visualize and rationalize than a 'melt up' scenario.

Looking at fund flows, the preference for bonds over stocks is clear. It's a vote on broad economic confidence, inflation and risk tolerance, says Informa's David Ader.

Investors largely reverse flows from the prior week but interest perked for telecoms and industrials

Summertime fervor continued into the normally sleepy month of August

Net outflows in emerging market equities was expected, but funds in China were the surprise losers.

Issues of U.S.–North Korea relations cause break in longest inflow streaks since 2013.

"How can you with confidence apply risk-on or risk-off thematics when data is pretty beige and Washington a massively eye-popping, head-shaking uncertainty?" asks Informa Chief Macro Strategist David Ader.

One of these peaks will be the peak, but predicting that ahead of time is not easy.

Gold has added 13 percent this year as Trump failed to deliver on campaign promises to ramp up U.S. growth by cutting taxes and boosting infrastructure spending.

Institutional quant hedge funds have addressed the risk issues that caused 2007 losses, but the newer retail products cannot.