Markets are gripped by fear on Thursday, here are 5 reasons why:

  1. A large shareholder of Portugal’s second largest bank Banco Espirito Santo missed a debt payment
  2. Chinese June exports rose 7.2% y/y compared to 10.4% expected
  3. Japanese machine orders collapsed 14.3% y/y compared to a 10.1% rise expected
  4. French industrial production fell 1.7% in May compared to +0.2% expected
  5. US retailers are warning on a weak consumer