Dollar carry trade unwinding

The dollar has been the ultimate carry trade currency. Borrow it cheaply and readily, invest in anything at all, and you will be a winner! That was then, this is now, the Great Unwinding:

- Housing down.

- Stocks down, especially foreign stocks.

- Metals, energy and grains down. Did you see the latest hedgies to get carried out?

- Foreign currencies down.

Am I missing anything? What else was bought in spades with cheap and depreciating dollars and has yet to start falling hard?

- Commercial real estate is teetering.

- Municipalities and states are pretending to get tough on spending, but they’ll default.

- Corporate defaults are ticking up, but from a very low base.

Note: It isn’t just low rates that invite a carry trade, but also a falling currency being handed out in buckets by drunken bankers.

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