US Economy: Dow plunges by more than 600 points in massive market sell-off - by Lucy Bayly

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank by more than 600 points Monday, dragged down by a tumble in Apple and Amazon shares, mounting geopolitical concerns, and a strengthening dollar.

The S&P also stumbled, falling by 2 percent after shares in Goldman Sachs sank by more than 7 percent amid reports that Malaysia is seeking a multimillion-dollar refund from the investment firm for its role in the country’s 1MDB state fund money-laundering scandal.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was down 2.8 percent.

Apple had pulled down tech stocks early Monday after Lumentum, a key supplier to the Cupertino-based giant, said it was cutting its outlook for the second quarter of 2019 based on lower forecast production volume for one of its major clients.

Tobacco stocks also had a bad day, tumbling double digits on news that the Food and Drug Administration is mulling a ban on menthol cigarettes.
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US Economy: Record Global Sell-Off of U.S. Debt Could Trigger Economic Collapse

Foreign governments buy U.S. debt because of the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency – the American economy has long been viewed as a safe place to invest. That's why the amount of U.S. debt held by foreign nations has increased more than six-fold since 2001.

But that's all changing now – events that could spark a U.S. economic collapse are already underway…

The Wall Street Journal revealed this week that China – the largest holder of U.S. investments – is ridding itself of its U.S. government bonds at the fastest rate in history.

In fact, a global sell-off of epic proportion is taking place.

Central banks in China, Russia, Brazil, and Taiwan are selling U.S. government bonds at such a pace that it's caused the most dramatic shift in the $12.8 trillion Treasury market since the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

Foreign official net sales of U.S. Treasury debt maturing in at least one year hit $123 billion in the 12 months ended in July, according to Deutsche Bank Securities Chief International Economist Torsten Slok, reported WSJ. That's the biggest decline since data started to be collected in 1978.

By contrast, foreign central banks purchased $27 billion of U.S. notes and bonds in the prior 12-month period.

Foreign central bankers' massive offloading of U.S. debt sends this dangerous signal…

Read more: WARNING: Record Global Sell-Off of U.S. Debt Could Trigger Economic Collapse