Global financial - and crypto markets are under pressure! Right now, almost all financial markets are down significantly, the AEX has lost more than 10% over the past month, and the Dow Jones and Japanese stock market index have also suffered significant losses. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are even down 25 to 30%. This is due to several global causes. What's Going On? On July 31, the Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to maintain the current interest rate of 5.50%, which was in line with market expectations. While financial markets were largely at ease, this changed when the latest economic data were released on Aug. 1 and 2. First, U.S. employment claims came in higher than expected, while the ISM Manufacturing PMI fell significantly, both indicating that the U.S. economy was contracting faster than expected. This led investors to believe that the Fed might fall behind in easing interest rates, leading traders to estimate an even greater likelihood of a 50 basis point cut in September, compared to the earlier consensus of 25 basis points. These concerns increased when the change in employment and the unemployment rate turned out to be worse than expected. This significantly changed the outlook for interest rates. Investors currently expect interest rates to fall 125 basis points and end at 4.25% in December 2024. Many investors now believe that the U.S. is headed for recession. This has caused a ripple effect around the world, especially in Japan, which was hit hard, as the U.S. is still the world's leading economic power. U.S. and Japanese markets are quite intertwined, and fears of a U.S. recession combined with a rising yen caused the Japanese stock market to fall. From Aug. 1 through Monday, Aug. 5, the Nikkei, Japan's major stock index, fell more than 20%, the worst crash since Black Monday in 1987. In addition, markets across Asia were affected and all major indexes lost significantly. In addition, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East rose sharply between Israel and Iran,with expectations of further intensifying escalation. Due to the above uncertainties, investors are massively switching from risky investments to less risky investments. Digital assets are considered high-risk investments by investors and thus have also been sold in very large numbers over the past few days, leading to very large price drops of Bitcoin of over 25% and Ethereum of over 30%. Although our (F&F) Poolfolios Mix and FullC were also affected by the global events and suffered significant price losses, they did manage to outperform Bitcoin and Ethereum. Bright spot in these troubled times is our (F&F) Stable Poolfolio! This one shows little downward price swing despite all the negative sentiment! In times of negative sentiment, fear is a bad advisor and it is important to keep your long-term goals in mind. After all, the time factor has a favorable effect on risk.