I would say it’s the market valuations getting a semblance of sanity
The overall problem In global equity markets is that long term debt has piled up so enormously high that we are in the latter stages of the monetary systems “life cycle “. This perspective doesn’t receive much awareness but at this point in the life cycle central banks the world over have to keep interest rates permanently at low level so that the interest on the debt maintains manageable Low Payments
The other related and red flag of a monetary system in the “late stages of its life” is that Sovereign central banks are now the * largest holders* of their Counties debt . No longer is China remotely close to the largest holder of US gov’t debt . Thanks to “QE” and incredible ballooning of the all Major central bank balance sheets , the central banks have been buying their own countries gov’t bonds In gigantic quantities (To suppress 10-30 year interest rates ) to keep debt levels Manageable and to keep borrowing rates lower for households . It’s the hallmark of a fragile system .
The only game left in town for central banks is to sustain a very accommodative policy (and move goal posts to respectively to justify said policy ) That keeps liquidity very high and risk assets being bid up to keep those asset prices very high to maintain the surprisingly fragile reality that assets are marked up enough to keep household balance sheets solvent . The debt isn’t going away . The USA and many major countries are so debt saturated that gdp growth (in a debt based system ) is now permanently low and dependent on large increases in fiscal spending . There are more and more “balls that require juggling to kick the can” and Further sustain the current monetary systems functioning / existence /solvency .
Surpisingly fragile and dependent on continued intervention ...and everyone would be effected. Monetary systems have a finite existence .
People from Central America know the reality of waking up to see that their life savings has been devalued by 75% overnite and while I don’t see it going down like that as the US dollar is the back bone of the global financial system , there will be a time when folks learn the hard way that monetary systems need a occasional reset and protecting ones life savings thru diversity and hard assets (not paper promises ) should be a priority .
when it does there will likely be a catalyst (black swan) that pushes the system over the edge..this will be billed as a tragedy that “nobody saw coming” “ and things “were going so well “ but in reality when a system is so fragile and black swans occur (thou their timing and details can’t be predicted ) preparation was the key and no I don’t have a answer (I don’t have much wealth) people smarter than me are preparing