Talking Points:

• Fed Chair Yellen's testimony offers little resolution for a Dollar sitting on critical support

• The S&P 500 refuses to make headway in a recovery while USDJPY continues to dive

• Gold keeps the pressure on a multi-year channel resistance (1,200) while US oil hits new multi-year lows

It's both an exciting and frightening time to be in the markets. Having witnessed volatility percolate for some months, we are finally starting to see some of the permanent side effects of increased activity and uncertainty. As risk aversion unfolds in phases for different asset classes, we have on the one hand USDJPY continue to bomb lower while the S&P 500 attempts to keep a floor roughly around 1,840 beneath it. While we have seen numerous card holding risk assets drop months and years ago, it is unlikely that these two will deviate for long when one momentum is carrying one. Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen's testimony this past session was an opportunity to revive confidence in the faltering carry trade or otherwise capsize hold outs in shares, but her hedged commentary offered clarity for either side. The tension simply keeps building and the conclusion to this stand off will not likely be slow and orderly.