Jim Rogers does not do things by halves. The outspoken investor who originally founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros is so bearish about the dollar, the US housing market and the US economy that he is leaving. He has sold his Manhattan townhouse and is moving to China with his Mandarin-speaking daughter.

Not many have gone as short on the US as Mr Rogers but plenty of others lack confidence. Warren Buffett, the investor, has been a bear on the dollar for a long time, believing the trade and budget deficits show the US is living beyond its means. His company Berkshire Hathaway has been investing in companies overseas, including in South Korea, which Mr Buffett visited last week. Mr Buffett used to be a voice in the wilderness but there is now a slew of US bears. The dollar kept falling against the euro and sterling this week, with the pound reaching quarter-century highs. The US stock market juddered again, led by sharp drops in the shares of banks such as Citigroup, which are heavily exposed to the US housing bust (although strong employment figures provided some relief yesterday).