The latest US jobs report doused nascent optimism that the American economy was weakening enough to warrant a go-slower approach by the Federal Reserve in its battle against inflation.

Being glued to crypto news this week meant missing adventures in regular markets that while lacking the same high drama, made up for it in terms of money at stake.

Monday brought a stark warning for Wall Street daredevils: Stocks are still in free fall and bearish sentiment is far from getting exhausted -- especially with hawkish central bankers rattling recession-obsessed markets like this.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s message to investors was short and blunt: The central bank will likely keep raising interest rates and leave them elevated for some time to battle inflation.

Stocks tumbled on Wednesday after inflation accelerated in June more than expected, putting pressure on the Federal Reserve to remain aggressive in its fight against price increases.

Wall Street analysts are sticking with their bullish earnings forecasts for this quarter, and Morgan Stanley’s Lisa Shalett says they need a reality check.

Options insurance. Hedging with Treasuries. Using sentiment to pick a bottom. The things that have lessened the pain of past equity selloffs are coming up short this time around.

As corporate leaders increase their grim pronouncements about the future, there are still market economists who see stocks heading higher in the second half of this year and who say the US could sidestep a recession.

First it was a rout in the stay-at-home names that surged in the pandemic. Then speculative software makers with barely any earnings went south. Now the giant technology names whose sway on benchmarks has been decried by bears for years are dragging the market down.

Investors are flooding into exchange-traded funds focused on semiconductor stocks, wagering the industry will rebound from the supply-chain snags and chip shortage that have dragged the shares lower.