The US government said it would buy its own bonds on Thursday. Investors bought them on Wednesday, and its borrowing cost still hit a three-year high.

The rest of the day

36 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   Europe's central bank set to raise rates

   The European Central Bank, which sets interest rates for the 21 countries using the euro, is expected to lift its main rate to 2.50% from 2.25% on Thursday. Markets put the chance of at least a quarter-point rise at 100%. Euro-zone inflation was 3.3% in August, with energy prices 14.3% higher than a year earlier, because the bloc imports most of its fuel and the US-Iran war has pushed oil up. It raised in June for the first time since 2023, then held in July. Thursday's staff forecasts were finished before oil crossed $100. [11][12][14]

   Why it matters — It is the second rise this year for households and firms borrowing in euros, and their central bank is answering a fuel price it cannot change. One economist expects further rises in October and December; another sees a long hold at 2.50%. Christine Lagarde's press conference matters more than usual, because the chairman of the US central bank has stopped saying what he plans to do next. [11][12][13][16]

2. 03

   Brent oil closes above $100

   Brent crude, the price most of the world's oil is sold against, rose 3.4% on Wednesday to close at $101.21 a barrel. US crude gained 3.3% to $96.05. Both were the highest closing prices since May. It followed the biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the six-month war between the United States and Iran began. US forces sank five Iranian oil tankers. Iran said it attacked ten ships near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel a large share of the world's oil passes through. [9][15][10]

   Why it matters — Fuel feeds into almost every price, which is why bond yields rose across Europe, Japan and the United States on the same day. India, which imports about 85% of its crude, is one of the places where it shows up fastest in the shops. [10][36]

3. 04

   Two inflation reports decide a rate meeting

   US producer prices for August are published on Thursday and consumer prices on Friday. They are the last figures the Federal Reserve, the US central bank, gets before deciding on rates on 15 and 16 September. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect consumer prices up 0.4% in the month and 3.4% over the year. About 70% of 93 economists in a Reuters poll expect no change, down from 90% in August; futures price a 60% chance of a rise. The question opened in the spring, when the United States attacked Iran and oil spiked. [16][17][18][21][9]

   Why it matters — A rise would be the first since July 2023 and would land on every American with a loan whose rate moves. One economist called it the most consequential inflation report in some time. A forecaster at Evercore ISI says a monthly reading of 0.22% or lower in the measure the Fed watches favours a hold, while 0.24% could tip it to a rise. [16][17][19]

4. 05

   Bond investors move to shorter loans

   Money is going into short-dated government bond funds and staying out of long ones. Short US Treasury exchange-traded funds took $12.2bn in the 20 trading sessions to 8 September, and intermediate ones about $5.7bn, according to LSEG Lipper. Long-term bond funds have drawn just $2.5bn all year, against $54.2bn for intermediate funds. Lending for thirty years pays little more than lending for two, so the extra risk is not being paid for. [23]

   Why it matters — Anyone whose pension holds long government bonds is on the other side of that: the iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond fund is down more than 4% this year and a long-dated Fidelity fund more than 5%. [24]

5. 06

   Small companies feel the rate first

   Small-company shares have fallen below a level chart-watchers follow, and the Russell 2000 index of them is heading for its first quarterly loss since early 2025. Smaller firms borrow more, and more of what they borrow carries a rate that moves with the market rather than a fixed one. They had been beating the S&P 500 earlier in the year. [25]

   Why it matters — If borrowing costs are going to bite the wider stock market, this is where it usually shows up first, which is why investors are watching an index most people never hear about. [25]

6. 07

   Long borrowing costs at multi-decade highs

   The rise is not only American. French government borrowing costs are at their highest in 18 years and German at their highest in 15, while Japan's ten-year yield passed 3% this month for the first time in three decades. The US thirty-year rate touched 5.3% on 17 August, a 19-year high and 2.4 percentage points above its 2017-19 average. One argument is that this is a return to normal rather than a crisis: rates were higher than this through most of the four decades before 2007. [27][26][23]

   Why it matters — Governments everywhere are borrowing more at the same time, and the price of that borrowing is set by the same lenders. Morningstar argues the cause is a stronger economy rather than fear of US debt, which would mean better returns for bond buyers later. [26]

7. 08

   Gold higher as the dollar softens

   Gold rose 0.3% to $4,412.84 an ounce on Thursday morning in Asia, helped by a weaker dollar, while traders waited for the US inflation figures. Silver rose 0.2% to $67.42. Gold pays no interest, so it usually suffers when rates rise; it is going up anyway. An ANZ strategist said that is because confidence in the long-term value of government debt is being eaten away. US federal debt passed $40 trillion for the first time last month. [22]

   Why it matters — People buy gold when they doubt a currency rather than an economy. It is going up in the same week the US government is paying more to borrow. [22]

8. 09

   Japan's central bank expected to raise

   The Bank of Japan is expected to lift its rate to 1.25% on 18 September, and to 1.75% by the second quarter of 2027, sooner than forecasters thought. The yen has already climbed to seven-month highs on that expectation and was at 153.70 to the dollar on Thursday, pausing rather than reversing. Japan kept rates near zero for decades, so each rise there pulls money home that had been lent out around the world. [10]

   Why it matters — The rise has not happened yet and the currency has already moved, which is the same pattern as Wednesday's bond sale in the United States. [10][2]

9. 10

   India's inflation likely a 20-month high

   India's consumer price inflation probably rose to 4.80% in August from 4.45% in July, a 20-month high, according to a Reuters poll of 44 economists. The figures are published on 14 September. An erratic monsoon pushed up sugar, cereals, milk, edible oils and eggs, and sugar alone likely added at least 0.15 percentage points. Fuel added more, with crude near $100. It is the third straight month above the Reserve Bank of India's 4% target, though still inside its 2-6% band. [36]

   Why it matters — India's central bank held rates last month and is not expected to raise until next year, so households there absorb the food and fuel increase without a policy answer. [36]

10. 11

    Senegal's lenders hire a law firm

    Holders of Senegal's government bonds have formed a creditor group of at least eight fund managers and hired the law firm White and Case, four people with knowledge of it told Reuters. Senegal has been in trouble since 2024, when new leaders revealed that the previous government had hidden billions in borrowing; the total reached about $13bn, a quarter of the country's economy. Last week the International Monetary Fund agreed a fresh $2.2bn loan in principle, and Senegal said it would rework its debts under the G20 process for low-income countries. [29]

    Why it matters — The lenders organised before any offer exists, because they know one is coming. White and Case has advised governments in Ethiopia and Ukraine and creditors in Lebanon and Sri Lanka. [29]

11. 12

    Angola opens its bond market to foreigners

    Angola wants to let foreign investors buy its $18.6bn of local-currency government debt, its finance minister Vera Daves de Sousa told Reuters, and is talking to JPMorgan about joining a new index of frontier-market local debt. At present buying Angolan government paper needs central bank approval and a local banking arrangement. Angola's government will meet international investors in Luanda, the capital, later this month. Angola has far less domestic government debt outstanding than Kenya, whose economy is only slightly larger. [30]

    Why it matters — Borrowing at home in its own currency would cut Angola's dependence on dollar debt, which gets dearer whenever its own currency falls. Senegal, on the same continent, is reworking about $13bn of debt after years of borrowing abroad. [30][29]

12. 13

    A Chinese AI chipmaker lists with 4% floating

    Shanghai Enflame Technology, an AI chip designer backed by the internet company Tencent, will start trading on Shanghai's STAR Market on Friday. It sold 43 million new shares at 142.18 yuan each, raising 6.12bn yuan, about $912m, and valuing the company at about $9.12bn. Only 4.16% of its shares will actually be tradable on day one. It expects a loss of 700-860m yuan for January to September, on revenue up between 326% and 455%. Tencent will own 17.95% and was 83.79% of its sales last year. [31]

    Why it matters — Only about a twenty-fifth of the shares can change hands on Friday, so a small number of buyers will set the value put on the whole company. One customer, Tencent, provided almost all of last year's sales. [31]

13. 14

    Crypto and banks fight before a Senate vote

    The US Senate takes a procedural vote on 15 September on the Clarity Act, which would define which digital tokens count as securities and which regulator supervises them. The crypto industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars pushing it. During the congressional recess that began on 8 August, crypto groups and banking groups ran opinion pieces in local newspapers in Oklahoma, Kentucky and Kansas, and held events in Iowa and Michigan. One advocacy group says its supporters contacted members of Congress nearly 50,000 times in August. Banks warn the bill lacks safeguards. [32]

    Why it matters — The date of the vote is fixed and public, so all the money is spent in the weeks before it rather than on the day. Analysts quoted by Reuters think the bill's chances look slim. [32]

14. 15

    Coinbase says clarity comes either way

    Brian Armstrong, chief executive of Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange, told CNBC on Thursday that the Clarity Act is ready for a yes vote and that senators he has spoken to are on board. He said that even if it fails, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are ready to publish their own rules within a day or two of the 15th. Getting 60 votes is the obstacle, with ethics provisions still being negotiated. [33]

    Why it matters — Armstrong is describing two ways to the same outcome, while analysts quoted by Reuters say the bill's chances look slim. Coinbase is meanwhile expanding beyond crypto trading into shares, commodities and stablecoins. [33][32]

15. 16

    US antitrust lawyers examine Nvidia's Groq deal

    The US Justice Department is investigating whether Nvidia, which makes most of the chips AI runs on, structured a deal with the chip startup Groq to avoid antitrust review, the New York Times reported. Nvidia paid $17bn last year for a non-exclusive licence to Groq's chip technology and hired several of its executives, including the founder Jonathan Ross. Buying a company outright triggers a review; licensing its technology and hiring its people may not. The department opened the inquiry shortly after the deal and has sent Nvidia a formal request for information. [34]

    Why it matters — The report says the department is unlikely to try to unwind the deal but could fine Nvidia. What is being examined is how the deal was built, not what Nvidia paid. [34]

16. 17

    India recommends a fraud probe into Xiaomi

    India's Serious Fraud Investigation Office has recommended a detailed investigation into Xiaomi, the Chinese electronics maker, over its business model and its compliance with foreign investment law, according to a government memorandum seen by Reuters. It wants the movement of funds examined, and whether Xiaomi obtained the approvals required after India tightened rules on Chinese investment following deadly border clashes in 2020. Xiaomi says it has received no notice and complies fully with Indian law. The memorandum was drafted in May. [35]

    Why it matters — It surfaces days before China's president Xi Jinping is expected in India for a BRICS summit. Xiaomi was once India's best-selling phone brand and is already fighting tax demands there. [35]

17. 18

    Pepsi hands $1.7bn of advertising to Publicis

    PepsiCo has given Publicis Groupe, the French advertising group, its $1.7bn global media, data and technology account without running a formal pitch, ending a partnership with Omnicom of more than 25 years. Publicis already handles Coca-Cola's advertising in North America and was bidding for Coke's global business; it has now withdrawn from that contest and is expected to resign the North America account, worth about $805m. Coca-Cola is putting that business back under review. [37]

    Why it matters — Advertising groups have merged into a handful of firms, so a company like PepsiCo has few alternatives if a rival gets there first. Pepsi moved before Publicis could be locked up by Coke. [37]

18. 19

    Silver Lake merges two French software firms

    The private equity firm Silver Lake is merging Cegid, which sells business management software, and Silae, a payroll and human resources platform, both French and both already majority-owned by Silver Lake. The combined company is valued at more than 10bn euros, about $11.6bn, and will put payroll, accounting, electronic invoicing and payments data in one place with a 1,400-person development team. Software shares fell hard this year on fears AI would replace subscription software, then recovered in May. [38]

    Why it matters — The two companies say joining up lets them spend more on research as AI arrives. It also puts payroll, accounting, invoicing and payments data for French businesses under a single owner. [38]

19. 20

    World Bank arm takes on card credit risk

    Visa and the International Finance Corporation, the private-sector arm of the World Bank, agreed a deal under which the IFC will carry part of the credit settlement risk on Visa transactions at enrolled banks. It covers about $200m of risk over five years, starting with 14 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and around 50 financial institutions rated below investment grade. Those banks are often too weak on paper to be allowed into card networks at scale. [39]

    Why it matters — A public institution is absorbing a risk that private banks would not, in order to connect people without bank accounts to digital payments. [39]

20. 21

    Europe proposes buy-European tender rules

    The European Commission has proposed replacing three directives on public tenders with a single regulation and building one EU-wide platform. Governments would be allowed to reject a bid when less than half of what it supplies is made in Europe. Quality would have to carry at least 30% of the scoring, so a contract could no longer go automatically to whoever bids lowest. Public buying is about 15% of EU output, roughly 2.5 trillion euros in 2025. Companies bidding today face different templates and languages across 27 countries. [40]

    Why it matters — The stated target is cheap subsidised goods from outside the bloc, especially from China. Mario Draghi, who used to run the European Central Bank, has argued for years that the bloc does not use its own buying power to any purpose. [40]

21. 22

    A pipeline company may leave New York

    Energy Transfer, a large US pipeline operator, is set to become the first major company to move its primary stock listing from New York to the Texas Stock Exchange, according to people familiar with the matter. The Texas exchange launched to challenge the dominance of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, and its whole plan depends on persuading companies to switch rather than only attracting new ones. [41]

    Why it matters — The Texas exchange has no large listings yet, and its plan rests on persuading companies to leave New York rather than only attracting new ones. Energy Transfer would be the first to test whether that works. [41]

22. 23

    Two funders fight over a 36bn pound case

    Two litigation funders are in conflict over who should lead the next phase of a 36bn pound claim against the miners BHP and Vale. The law firm Pogust Goodhead brought the case in the United Kingdom for more than 600,000 Brazilians hit by the 2015 Fundao dam collapse. The miners were found liable in November. Litigation funders pay legal costs in exchange for a share of any award, so they are investors in a lawsuit rather than parties to it. [42]

    Why it matters — The people the case is about are not in this argument. It is being had between two sets of investors over how to maximise the payout. [42]

23. 24

    Trump's envoy earned $100m from a crypto venture

    Steve Witkoff, the US president's Middle East envoy, reported earning more than $100m from the company holding his stake in World Liberty Financial, according to a new financial disclosure. That included nearly $69m in cash and $38m in cryptocurrency, and is more than three times what he declared a year earlier. Witkoff co-founded World Liberty with Donald Trump and members of his family in 2024. Its token, WLFI, has fallen sharply since it became publicly tradable last autumn. [43]

    Why it matters — The same person negotiates for the US government in the Middle East and holds a large stake in a crypto company he founded with Donald Trump. [43]

24. 25

    Bitcoin's first buy signal in over a year

    Bitcoin's 50-day average price rose above its 200-day average on Tuesday, a crossing chart-watchers call a golden cross and read as bullish. It is the first since May 2025. Bitcoin traded around $79,300 on Wednesday, up 34% since the start of July but still 58% below its record of about $126,000 in October 2025. The whole crypto market is worth about $2.7 trillion and has barely moved for a fortnight. [44][45]

    Why it matters — The signal is a pattern in past prices, not news about anything, and one analyst notes it usually takes time to work. Bitcoin has fallen for nine months and this is the first technical sign that has turned. [44][45]

25. 26

    AI outbids bitcoin miners for electricity

    Donald Trump's pledge to centre bitcoin mining in the United States is coming apart, squeezed between the AI building boom and a long crypto slump, Bloomberg reports. Mining means running computers to verify transactions in exchange for new coins, and it only pays when the electricity costs less than the coins earn. Bitcoin's total market value is down about $1 trillion from its October 2025 peak, while data centre operators will pay far more for the same power. [46]

    Why it matters — Two industries want the same electricity, and the one earning more per kilowatt takes it. [46]

26. 27

    Scam victims fight the US government over seized coins

    Nivie Kaul lost more than $8m in a crypto scam in 2022, gave up her work as a legal consultant and learned to trace money across digital ledgers. Her claim in Turkey triggered a prosecution of what prosecutors call a professional money-laundering ring, and a Turkish court ordered a wallet holding more than $100m seized in 2023. Before Turkey could distribute it, US law enforcement took custody of that wallet and other holdings totalling $225m, in an operation aimed at a scam compound in the Philippines. [47]

    Why it matters — Victims who did the tracing themselves are now arguing with the US government that seized the money about who gets it back. [47]

27. 28

    Argentina's riders borrow at 131%

    Delivery riders in Buenos Aires are taking loans from the same apps they work for. PedidosYa lends to riders at 131% a year and the digital wallet Personal Pay at about 170%. One courier earns about 70,000 pesos, roughly $46, a day, while recovering an impounded motorcycle costs about 140,000 pesos. Argentina's fintech lending has grown twenty-fold to 10 million loans in six or seven years. Nearly 6 million people, almost a third of borrowers, are more than 90 days behind. [48]

    Why it matters — Borrowing to get back the tool you earn with binds the worker to the platform twice over. President Javier Milei's cuts to subsidies have squeezed the same households. [48]

28. 29

    Forest fund raises $7.3bn of a $10bn condition

    The Tropical Forest Forever Facility has collected $7.3bn in pledges, short of the $10bn Norway has set as its condition for releasing $3bn of its own, and the gap has to close by the end of this year. The design is unusual. Governments and charities would put in $25bn to take the first losses, so the fund can borrow $100bn cheaply. That $125bn would be lent to developing countries at higher rates, and the gap between the two pays landowners $4 a year for each hectare of forest left standing. [49]

    Why it matters — The design concedes that a standing forest earns nothing by itself, so the payment has to be manufactured out of a bond portfolio. A Reuters columnist argues a plain grant of about $4bn a year would do the same job. [49]

29. 30

    Chewy raises guidance and its shares fall

    Chewy, an American online pet supplies retailer, reported net sales up 7.3% to $3.33bn for the quarter to 2 August, at the top of its own guidance, and raised its full-year revenue and profit outlook. Its shares fell anyway. The company said customers are cutting back on things they can go without, such as treats, and expects that pressure to continue through the rest of the year. [51][50]

    Why it matters — Chewy's own explanation splits its sales in two: the food people keep buying, and the treats they drop first. That split inside one company is a readable measure of how much room households have. [51][50]

30. 31

    A contact lens maker falls 16% after hours

    CooperCompanies, a US medical device maker, beat profit forecasts with earnings of $1.15 a share against $1.12 expected, its eleventh straight beat, but revenue of $1.07bn came in under the $1.1bn forecast. Shares fell 6.22% in the day to $63.48 and another 16.04% after hours to $53.30. The company said it had cut the stock of contact lenses sitting in US distribution channels, which will weigh on the next quarter too. [52][53]

    Why it matters — The profit beat and the share fall are about different things: what the company earned last quarter, and what it now says it will sell next. [52][53]

31. 32

    American Eagle collects $196m of tariff refunds

    American Eagle Outfitters, a US clothing retailer, received $196m including interest in refunds of tariffs it had paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Its shares fell after same-store sales missed forecasts even though revenue and profit beat. Inventory cost is up 14% while units are up 9%, the difference being tariffs paid this year. Its Aerie brand is growing while the main American Eagle chain improves more slowly. [54][50]

    Why it matters — The $196m came from a legal reversal on tariffs, not from selling more clothes. Investors sold the shares anyway, because sales at shops open a year or more came in below forecasts. [54][50]

32. 33

    Signet raises its outlook and buys back shares

    Signet Jewelers, a jewellery retail group, swung to a profit in its second quarter and lifted full-year adjusted earnings guidance by more than 10%. It credited trading, extra share repurchases, refunds of tariffs it had already paid, and new terms on the credit agreement it offers customers. It plans a $125m accelerated share buyback this month, bringing capital returned this year to 12% of its recent market value. [55][50]

    Why it matters — Two of the four reasons it gave for the better outlook are financial rather than commercial: buying its own shares, and getting tariff money back. [55][50]

33. 34

    Deals return: chips, flats and supercars

    Analog Devices agreed to buy Alif Semiconductor for $1.35bn in cash, aiming at data centres and defence. Independence Realty Trust and Centerspace agreed an $8.1bn merger creating a middle-market apartment landlord. Porsche expects wider margins after selling its stakes in Bugatti and Rimac for $1.2bn, lifting its automotive cash flow margin forecast to 5.5-7.5% from 3-5%. The US Justice Department asked Fox and Roku for more information about their deal. [50]

    Why it matters — Companies are still buying each other while borrowing costs rise. The US Justice Department has asked for more material on one of the week's deals before letting it through. [50]

34. 35

    Dividend and buyback shares beat the market

    The Morningstar US Dividend and Buyback Index has gained 31.5% this year, more than twice the return of the broad US market index. The index holds companies that pay out cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, and it had not beaten the market since 2022. Older technology companies returning cash are a large part of this year's gain. [58]

    Why it matters — In a year when borrowing costs are rising, investors are paying more for companies that hand cash back now rather than promising it later. [58]

35. 36

    India's regulator loosens exchange board rules

    India's Securities and Exchange Board proposed relaxing the rules on who can sit on the boards of stock exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories. Current rules bar anyone connected to a stockbroker or other market intermediary, which the regulator says disqualifies candidates whose link is indirect, for instance through a subsidiary of the same large group. It proposed letting directors of widely held companies serve even if another company in their group acts as a broker. [59]

    Why it matters — The people who run a market and the people who trade on it are being allowed closer together, on the argument that there are not enough qualified candidates otherwise. [59]

36. 37

    Earnings from the quiet corners

    Sunbelt Rentals, an equipment rental firm, reported record first-quarter results and raised its full-year guidance, with specialty rental revenue in North America up 25% on demand from large projects, energy and live events. Core and Main, which supplies water and fire-protection infrastructure, grew sales 2.5% with municipal demand and data centre work carrying it. Korn Ferry, a consulting firm, posted a sixth straight quarter of revenue growth at $756.5m. AeroVironment, which makes military drones, had record first-quarter revenue of $480.5m, up 6%. MongoDB's shares fell 19% despite revenue growing 30%. [57][61][62][56][60]

    Why it matters — Core and Main names data centres among the large projects carrying its growth, and Sunbelt names mega projects and energy. Both supply the physical parts of a building boom before it shows up in anyone else's profits. [61][57]