US Completely Loses Perfect Credit Rating for First Time in Over a Century
www.newsweek.com

... Moody's Ratings downgraded the U.S. government's credit rating on Friday, citing repeated failures by successive administrations to control the country's growing debt.

The agency lowered the rating from its highest grade, Aaa, to Aa1, noting that while the U.S. still benefits from key strengths"such as a dynamic economy and the global dominance of the U.S. dollar"its fiscal outlook has significantly deteriorated.

Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. Treasury Department via email on Friday afternoon for comment.

Why It Matters

The shift means the United States no longer enjoys a fully stable top-tier rating from any major agency for the first time in more than 100 years. Moody's becomes the third and final major credit agency to reduce its assessment of the federal government's creditworthiness. Standard & Poor's made its first-ever downgrade in 2011, and Fitch Ratings followed in 2023. ...

Rates Spark: Treasuries out of favour
think.ing.com

... US Treasuries remain under pressure. It's not a "Sell America" thing, as no coincident dollar weakness. It's more based on the latest assessment of fundamentals. If this signals a broader trend of diversifying away from the US, even markets like Italy stand to benefit. The 10y Italy/Bund spread just marked its tightest levels since 2021.

US 10yr breaks above 4.5% again

Since the weekend agreement with China, we've turned bearish on Treasuries, as the recession risk has been downsized, and there's been a risk-on tone in the risk asset space. Also, we note that mutual funds had been setting short duration strategies over previous weeks, which had not shown up in prior yield movements. So an up-move in yields was overdue.

The fiscal story is something that continues to hang over the market, and the tax cutting ambitions are, if followed through on, seen as a Treasury market negative. That's been an ongoing thing churning in the background. Not new. But absolutely lined up as a negative. It's been quite a move. In the past five trading days the 10yr yield is up some 25bp.

No "Sell America" thing going on here. More a fair reflection of fundamentals. ...

genius.com

...
[Verse 1]
Copper sun sinking low
Scatterlings and fugitives
Hooded eyes and weary brows
Seek refuge in the night

[Chorus]
They are the scatterlings of Africa
Each uprooted one
On the road to Phelamanga
Where the world began

And I love the scatterlings of Africa
Each and every one
In their hearts a burning hunger
Beneath the copper sun

[Bridge]
Broken wall, bicycle wheel
African sun forging steel, singing
Magic machine cannot match
Human being human being
African idea
African idea
Make the future clear
Make the future clear

[Chorus]
They are the scatterlings of Africa
Each uprooted one
On the road to Phelamanga
Beneath the copper sun

And for the scatterlings of Africa
The journey has begun
Future find their hungry eyes
Beneath the copper sun

[Verse 3]
Ancient bones from Olduvai
Echoes of the very first cry
"Who made me here, and why
Beneath this copper sun?"

My very first beginnings
Beneath the copper sky
Lie deeply buried
In the dust of Olduvai

[Chorus]
And we are scatterlings of Africa
Both you and I
We are on the road to Phelamanga
Beneath a copper sky
And we are scatterlings of Africa
On a journey to the stars
Far below we leave forever
Dreams of what we were
...

Johnny Clegg
en.wikipedia.org

... Juluka

Juluka was an unusual musical partnership for the time in South Africa, with a white man (Clegg) and a black man (Mchunu) performing together.

The band, which grew to a six-member group (with three white musicians and three black musicians) by the time it released its first album Universal Men in 1979, faced harassment and censorship, with Clegg later remarking that it was "impossible" to perform in public in South Africa.[19]

The group tested the apartheid-era laws, touring and performing in private venues, including universities, churches, hostels, and even private homes in order to attract an audience, as national broadcasters would not play their music.[6] ...

Juluka - Scatterlings Of Africa (1982)
www.youtube.com

Scatterlings of Africa
en.wikipedia.org

... Background and composition

Juluka (meaning "sweat" in Zulu) was founded in 1969 by Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu. They mixed Zulu music with influences from rock and Celtic music.[3] As a multiracial band in apartheid-era South Africa, Juluka frequently had trouble with the police, and their songs were banned by state-run radio stations, but their brand of Afro-pop nonetheless became popular.[3]

The song's lyrics have been described as "reflecting the myriad dislocations of South African society."[4] According to scholar Timothy Taylor, they describe the story of "the hungry, the searching, all trying to make a better South Africa".[5]

The song's chorus illustrated its themes, also present in other compositions by Clegg: "They are the scatterlings of Africa/Each uprooted one/On the road to Phelamanga/Where the world began/I love the scatterlings of Africa/Each and every one/In their hearts a burning hunger/Beneath the copper sun."[5][6] ...

Trump Goes on Weird Rant About Military Planes Not Being Pretty Enough
newrepublic.com

... Early Thursday morning, Donald Trump took aim at how ugly he thinks some military planes look.

Speaking in Doha, Qatar, the president went off on one of his signature tangents at a press conference, ranting about how much he doesn't like the way stealth aircraft look.

"I'm not a huge believer in stealth because stealth is, basically, a lot of it's the design and the shape," Trump said, turning to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, seated next to him. "I'm sure you maybe think, but also, if that's the case, they're gonna figure it out pretty fast, I think. So you're gonna design an ugly plane for stealth reasons, and then six months later, they're gonna figure out this and then you're stuck with a plane." ...

OK looks like May 25-29 is a "State work period" when Legislators return to their home districts and states to hold Town Meetings with their constituents. ( www.doi.gov )

The Univ of Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey is done on a daily basis, with the results tallied and released every two or three weeks. ( www.sca.isr.umich.edu )

A couple interesting results noted, but was not mentioned in the article (I heard it from Consumers Director Joanne Hsu when she was interviewed on BloombergTV)...

1) Consumer Sentiment seemed to rise in the last couple days of the surveys after Pres trump retreated from his 145% China tariffs.

2) The latest results are starting to show Republicans expressing an increasing concern about the economy going forward. That was new since the prior survey.

Jeanine Pirro sworn in as interim US attorney
www.foxnews.com

... Former judge Jeanine Pirro was sworn in as interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

Pirro, 73, will now lead a team of attorneys in defending President Donald Trump's administration in court as well as prosecuting local crimes in the nation's capital. ...

"Jeanine Pirro has been a wonderful addition to The Five over the last three years and a longtime beloved host across FOX News Media who contributed greatly to our success throughout her 14-year tenure. We wish her all the best in her new role in Washington," a spokesperson for FOX News Media said in a statement. ...