United States

According to the latest BLS data, average hourly wages for all US workers rose 2.5% relative to the previous year, well below the Fed's "target" of 3.5-4.5%, as countless economists are unable to explain how 4.3% unemployment, and "no slack" in the economy fails to boost wage growth. Another problem with tepid wage growth, in addition to crush the Fed's credibility, is that it keeps a lid on how much general price levels can rise by.

More information has emerged from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's meeting with President Putin last week. The two met in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi on August 23rd to discuss recent developments in Syria. According to new shocking reports in both Arab and Israeli media, a senior Israeli official accompanying Netanyahu on the trip threatened to assassinate Syrian President Assad by bombing his palace in Damascus, while further adding that Israel will seek to derail the US-Russia brokered de-escalation deal reached in Astana, Kazakhstan earlier this summer.

Gold Surges 2.6% After Jackson Hole and N. Korean Missile

“Financial markets think the only realistic option for the U.S. and North Korea will be to sit down and talk at some point because other options are too costly for everyone involved. But no one can rule out the risk of accidents. Markets think the chicken game will continue for now and North Korea will remain a risk.”

      - Masayoshi Kichikawa, chief strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui.

Ahead of tonight's missile launch across Japan, North Korea warned that The UK “faces a miserable end” should it decide to join the joint military exercises being conducted by the US and South Korea that began last week, according to local media reports cited by Russia Today.

The annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills, which have been conducted every year since the Korean War ended in an uneasy ceasefire, involve nearly 20,000 troops and have long provoked the ire of North Korea’s leaders.