In fairness, this week should already be over, given the excitement generated by “X-marks-the-spot” Apple and bitcoin-basher J.P. Morgan chief Jamie Dimon.

But North Korea may keep everyone awake, as it vows to sink Japan into the sea and turn the U.S. into “ashes and dust.” So far, safe-haven yen and gold haven't blinked too much of an eye, as this market got a gutful of the communist country last week.

Onto another asset, and our call of the day from Marc “Dr Doom” Faber who says the hard-hit buck DXY, +0.00% could be in for a short-term boost of 4% to 5%, or perhaps “even more.” However, pointing the finger of blame at President Donald Trump, he says things look pretty bleak for the dollar in the long term — and that’s what’s making bitcoin attractive.

“You just have to look at the U.S. administration and their economic policies that will not be very conducive for dollar strength in the long run,” Faber, the editor and publisher of The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, said on CNBC.

While Faber says he’s pushing a bit of money toward the euro, he admits it isn’t so easy to find dollar alternatives.

“The question is, which currency is much better than the U.S. dollar? They’re all not so desirable, that’s why some people invest heavily in the so-called cryptocurrencies,” he said.

Unlike the dollar, bitcoin is up about 439% since the election. Though Faber isn’t a fan — he isn’t buying the cryptocurrency — he says he recognizes that some people are making money on it.

Key market gauges

There’s some red ink across the board for the Dow industrials DJIA, -0.87% , S&P 500 SPX, -1.11% and Nasdaq COMP, -1.07% post data. Oil prices US:CLZ7 are looking at a fourth-straight win. Asian markets ADOW, +0.33% slumped after data suggested China’s economic growth is losing momentum. It’s been seesaw action for European stocks SXXP, -0.66% .

The pound GBPUSD, +0.11% is rallying after the BOE warns U.K. rates could end up rising faster than forecast

Gold US:GCZ7 is flat.

See the Market Snapshot column for more.

Bitcoin BTCUSD, +0.68% is below $3,880. Read:Bitcoin at crossroads after shedding nearly $20 billion in value

The chart

The seemingly never-ending headache for Equifax EFX, -2.03% after its massive data breach has dinged those shares by 30% for the month so far. On the flip side of that, some cybersecurity stocks have been starting to move higher. Symantec US:SYMC is up about 10%, and Palo Alto Networks PANW, +0.07% is up 8%, both for this month so far.

MarketWatch

So now may be a good time to get in on some cybersecurity stocks, say Tony Daltorio, blogging for Investors Alley, and Greg Guenthner of the Daily Reckoning blog.

And it may be a particularly cheap time to get in on the Prime Cyber Security ETF HACK, +0.21% , which is up only about 1.5% so far this month. As Guenther notes, that ETF is starting to shake off some summer doldrums and move on up. Here’s that chart:

hack_1409b

Read:Failure to patch 2-month old bug let to Equifax nightmare

The buzz

Tesla TSLA, +4.42% is ‘tentatively’ ready to roll out its semi truck in October, says CEO Elon Musk. Meanwhile, Tesla’s VP of business development, Diarmuid O’Connell, is leaving, reports Business Insider.

Read:Analysts have raised, or lowered, their price targets the most on these U.S. stocks

Oracle ORCL, -0.71% is due to report after the bell late Thursday. It’s expected to pass a major milestone as software sales shift to the cloud.

Top Democrats say they’ve reached a DACA deal with POTUS to protect ’Dreamers,’ and it won’t include funding for a wall with Mexico. The White House is disputing that:

Martin Shkreli in jail as judge revokes bail after “pharma bro” offered a bounty for locks of Hillary Clinton’s hair.

Weekly jobless claims data showed a drop ahead of Hurricane Irma. August consumer prices surged 0.4% for the biggest rise since January.

The quote

Tokyo, Thursday Reuters

“Let’s reduce the U.S. mainland into ashes and darkness.” — That was the Korea Asia-Pacific peace committee speaking, as North Korea vowed retaliation for fresh U.N. sanctions.

The committee, which oversees the isolated nation’s relations with the outside world, also suggested the U.S. be “beaten to death like a rabid dog,” and Japan “sunken into the sea.”

Meanwhile, reports say a bad harvest, intense drought could mean food shortages for North Korea.

Random reads

Who needs a military jet for their honeymoon? Oh, just Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin.

Former White House press sec. Shawn Spicer dished to Jimmy Kimmel last night:

Motel 6 workers may be tipping off the ICE on undocumented workers.

At Fenway Park, “Racism is as American as Baseball” banner unfurled.

Need to Know starts early and is updated until the opening bell, but sign up hereto get it delivered once to your email box. Be sure to check the Need to Know item. The emailed version will be sent out at about 7:30 a.m. Eastern.

Follow MarketWatch on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.