August carried the imprint of resilience, though it was far from a straight line. The month opened on a sour note as new U.S. tariffs took effect and payroll revisions revived doubts about the labour market’s strength. Yet those concerns quickly gave way to renewed optimism. A solid earnings season, capped by strong results from technology bellwethers, and Jerome Powell’s dovish turn at Jackson Hole reassured investors that policy would lean toward support rather than restraint.

The violent repricing in April, from long-end Treasury selloffs to a dollar slide, signals something deeper than market noise. It points to a growing fragility at the core of U.S. financial credibility. What was once considered risk-free is now being repriced. The rise in long-term yields reflects not inflation fears or stronger growth, but rising concern over supply, trust, and structural imbalances. These are not the typical ripples of cyclical weakness. They signal a market reappraising the core assumptions behind America’s “risk-free” status.

Imagine a world where the U.S. dollar is no longer the undisputed reserve currency. Where foreign governments, once eager to stockpile U.S. Treasuries, are instead forced to accept financial terms dictated by Washington. Where economic diplomacy is no longer a delicate balancing act but a game of hardball, played from the gilded halls of Mar-a-Lago. This, according to its proponents, is the future promised by the so-called Mar-A-Lago Accord, a radical restructuring of global trade and monetary relations, designed to tilt the playing field back in favor of the United States.