Watch out for Bernanke's appearance at the Jackson Hole conference today. This is traditionally a more informal conference that gathers Fed governors, other bureaucrats and figures from the private sector to discuss major economic issues and monetary policy. It is a chance for Bernanke to give a high profile speech about monetary policy and where it is going, if only in very broad-strokes. Still, after having engineered this recovery with unprecedented stimulus. It certainly bears watching for any hint of Mr. Bernanke's thinking as market perceive that we are one stop from economic nirvana and a full-bore recovery, while we suspect that the Chairman has his worries. The Fed managed to keep the US economy from disappearing off the map, and it will remain highly dependent on Fed and government actions to keep it alive - it is still on life support. Any hint at removal of life support at some time down the road could test the market's mettle.

USDCHF just touched new lows for the year as we are writing this and EURCHF touched its 200-day moving average in today's trade as well - where are you, SNB? EURSEK is punching through to new lows since last November today, as CEE currencies continue to recover from their recent consolidation due to the rampant risk-taking. In other action, gold popped almost 20 dollars higher off the day's lows and crude is making a run at $75 as all market's are now joining in on the "greenback punching bag" game today. This market is fearsome for the fearful. Let's see how we end the week. Next week's event risk calendar looks fairly light, with the most interesting data points the German IFO and US Consumer Confidence (after the ugly preliminary Michigan data for August.) In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend.