Image Source: PexelsThe S&P 500 traded in a 500+ point band in August (about 10%) as investors first became very concerned that an imminent recession was being ignored by the Fed, before becoming more convinced that a recession may not be that imminent and the Fed is poised to cut rates at its September meeting.Along the way, the Nikkei dropped 12% in one day (only to reclaim almost all the lost ground by today, Sep-30) and the VIX spiked above 60 before receding back to 15 as uncertainty receded…Source: BloombergAugust was a replay of July in terms of macro surprise data (early ugly, late recover)…Source: Bloomberg…but August really spooked the markets (after payrolls – recession concerns), sparking a bloodbath in stocks to start the month, stocks (broadly speaking) rallied back to unchanged-ish on the month (flat-ish on the week and the day) with the S&P 500 leading the month while Small Caps lagged…Source: BloombergRate-cut expectations rose on the month – mostly driven by the early month panic…Source: BloombergTreasuries were aggressively bid on the month led by the short-end (2Y -33bps)…Source: Bloomberg…which steepened the curve significantly (disinverting 2s30s)…Source: BloombergBonds and stocks disagreed notably on the month and the recession odds…Source: BloombergGold rallied to new record highs on the month after the early tumble…Source: BloombergOil oscillated in a broad range but ended lower on the month…Source: BloombergThe dollar was down hard on the month but staged a decent comeback this week after testing near YTD lows…Source: BloombergBitcoin ended the month lower after recovering the early month losses and fading back…Source: BloombergFinally, it was a big week for the world’s most important stock…Source: BloombergCan NVDA keep the recession risks away single-handedly?More By This Author:Three Big Fish That Got AwayLarge U.S. Bank Deposits Plunge, MM Fund Assets Hit New Record Amid Equity ChaosFed’s Favorite Inflation Indicator Unexpectedly Misses As Savings Rate Plunges To Multiyear Low