U.S. 10-year Treasury bond prices rose slightly today, on light economic news. Today, Citigroup announced that borrower defaults are accelerating, highlighting underlying lending and housing worry points. Bonds rose steadily through the summer on housing weakness, but fell on anticipation of a rate cut. Bonds typically rise on economic weakness and fall on strength, so it's clear that traders have positioned themselves defensively in relation to bonds.

The yen rose today against the dollar and the euro, reversing early losses, as traders exited the carry trade to avoid equity losses. Today, US markets headed lower, prompting investors to buy back previously borrowed yen. The yen rose accordingly. The dollar was slightly lower versus the euro today, but most of the action revolved around yen strength.

Crude oil futures shot higher, hitting new records above $86 dollar on Middle East worries. Turkey has threatened to invade northern Iraq to deal with Kurdish militants in that area of the country, it was reported. Any major upsets or situations in the Middle East generally lead to rise in crude prices, as the region is a major supplier of crude supplies for the world. Last summer, a war in Lebanon led to then-record highs. Natural gas futures also rose, up nearly 7%.

Gold futures rose over 1%, propelled by dollar weakness versus the euro and record oil prices. Gold normally trades inversely to the dollar and with crude oil, which is exactly what happened today. Traders bought gold as a safety from underlying dollar weakness, and soaring crude prices. Copper futures were also up about 1%.

Grains were higher today. Soybeans rose about 1%, while corn jumped over 3%.

Stocks declined on Monday, weighed down by Citigroup's disappointing earnings. Click here to read the rest of today's Stock Market Recap.