Federal Reserve officials debated whether tariff-driven inflation in the months ahead will be a one-time event or an ongoing problem, according to minutes of their last policy meeting released Wednesday afternoon. read more
OK, let's have some fun this evening/night/weekend ... Group members who have gone solo. As the link shows, Aimee Mann, a member of the 'Til Tuesday ("Voices Carry") group, but now a solo artist.
Climate change is making severe storms both more common and more intense.
President Donald Trump and his advisers promised a lightning round of global trade negotiations with dozens of countries back in April. read more
Republicans appear to be changing their views on immigration policies, while the majority still support President Donald Trump in the way he is handling the issue. A new poll from Gallup Friday shows a steep drop among Republicans wanting immigration levels into the U.S. decreased -- falling from 88 percent in 2024 down to 48 percent in June. The same survey showed an uptick in Republicans who see immigration as having a positive effect on the U.S.
@#27 ... Yes - and this is probably a new concept for your smooth brain ...
Still, with the ad hominem comment.
That aside ...
... NOT ALL SPENDING IS THE SAME ...
Yeah, in #26 I was mentioning the increase of the deficit, and how that may affect interest rates. Nice attempt at a deflection.
... It would if rates were actually set by supply & demand - which they aren't. ...
For US bonds and, subsequently, the cost of US borrowing, yeah they do appear to be set by supply and demand.
That's likely one of the reasons why Pres Trump reacted so quickly to the bond market.
Why did Trump pause the tariffs? The bond market rebelled -- here's what that means. (April 2025)
www.cbsnews.com
... Even as stocks plunged in reaction to his administration's sweeping tariffs, President Trump expressed confidence in his trade policies, saying last week that "markets are going to boom." But by Wednesday, a collective thumb's down to the tariffs by bond investors had given Mr. Trump pause.
With U.S. and global financial market tumbling, he abruptly suspended his administration's "reciprocal tariffs" on dozens of other countries for 90 days, acknowledging that the bond market was "getting a little queasy."
Mr. Trump's about-face was by no means the first time a sitting American president had blinked in the face of bond investors expressing alarm over U.S. policies they viewed as fiscally reckless and harmful to their portfolios. In their first terms, both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also found themselves knocked back when the bond market rebelled at the cost of some of their strategic priorities.
The "bond vigilantes" ride again
Americans might think of bonds as a less risky asset class they turn to in their 401(k)s to offset more volatile investments, such as stock. But the $2.8 trillion Treasury market is also a bedrock of the U.S. government. The federal government finances the country's debt by selling Treasury bills to investors, who prize the asset because of the country's sterling credit rating and its guarantee of making good on interest payments.
As the Trump administration's reciprocal tariffs went into effect on Wednesday, the bond prices slid and the yield on 2-year Treasury notes rose by as much as 0.3 percentage points, marking the biggest intraday move since 2009, according to financial data firm FactSet. (Bond prices move in inverse relation to their interest rates, or yields.) ...
@#6 ... Joan Jett..
Wow, of the Blackhearts fame?
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - I Love Rock N Roll
www.youtube.com
@#9 ...That, or else someone's chimp is on the computer again. ...
Or, maybe not on a computer, but sticking a blade of grass up its ---- pore?
'Chimpfluencers' Are Sticking Grass in Their Ears
drudge.com
...[In] August 2023, at the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust sanctuary in Zambia, a trendsetting chimp named Juma was seen sticking a piece of grass into his ear, deep enough to stay there on its own. Within a week the fad went viral, as four other chimps in the group started copying his unusual accessory.
Not to be outdone, later that month Juma debuted a risqu variation: he inserted a blade of grass into his rectum, and left it dangling. This unorthodox trend also caught on, with five other chimps adopting the strange new fashion. ...
I can't make this stuff up ...
Judy Collins - Amazing Grace (1970)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
...
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now can see
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
Through many dangers, toils and snares
We have already come
'Twas grace hath brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead us home
And when we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We'll have no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we first begun
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now can see
...
Is China Engaging in Large-Scale Dumping of US Treasury Securities? (April 2025)
internationalbanker.com
... When reviewing China's recent actions regarding its net US bondholdings"a period that has seen the country sell substantially more US Treasuries than it has bought"one might be inclined to suggest that Beijing could be behind this latest bond-market rout.
During December, for instance, official US government figures showed that Mainland China, along with the two other leading national holders of US Treasury securities (Japan and the United Kingdom), dumped more than $80 billion of US government debt in total. Japan, the biggest holder, shed some $25.6 billion of US Treasuries during December to leave its total holdings at the time at $1.0615 trillion, while $9.6 billion and a hefty $44.1 billion were sold by China and the UK, respectively, to leave their holdings at $759.0 billion and $722.7 billion.
Although evidence through February of this year showed that the three nations had somewhat replenished their US Treasury security holdings since December, the bond market's pronounced volatility in early April has generated its fair share of allegations against China that it is engaging in large-scale bond dumping once more. ...
A more recent example ...
Revivalists - Wish I Knew You (2016)
www.youtube.com
- and -
David Shaw - Take A Look Inside (2024)
www.youtube.com
Yeah, imo, that one fizzled.
Mr Shaw needs the Revivalists to back him up.
@#13 ...The order on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from conducting the arrests without "reasonable suspicion" that its targets were in the country illegally. ...
And, I will state again.
Due process matters.