Markets are once again roiling. As with so many sell offs in financial markets, this is a story of pressure building steadily until it must vent. Volatile markets are here to stay but the next few weeks will tell us whether this episode is a signal of something more ominous to come or just another bump in the road.

The fundamental catalyst to the current sell off in equity markets has been the rise in US treasury yields. Specifically, it is treasuries breaching the 3.2% barrier, which is psychologically rather than necessarily economically significant.