This is bad for the dollar and US markets: China is building payment systems that let countries trade without dollars, while the Fed signals surprise rate hikes.

• China's mBridge system lets countries trade and pay each other in their own currencies, skipping the dollar — and it's cheaper than the Western SWIFT system.
• 26 global banks, including Standard Chartered, just joined a separate Chinese digital-yuan payment platform, giving it instant reach across Asia's trade routes.
• The Fed signaled it will hike rates fast to crush inflation, possibly as soon as September, blindsiding markets that expected easy money until 2027.
• US stocks dropped hard on the warning — the Dow fell over 800 points — showing how fragile the market is.
• The Iran war ended with a deal seen as costly for the US, and the inflation damage from the conflict is already baked into prices.

Outlook: Expect more Fed rate hikes ahead and a slow, steady drain of global trade away from the dollar toward China's yuan.