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Global Markets & Fixed Income

Morning brief · Overnight + Asia — updated Sat, Aug 22, 2026 · 7:00 AM (Europe/London).

Top Story

Driving everything

Long-end Treasury selloff squeezes markets as Bessent readies Monday briefing

A renewed rise in long-dated US Treasury yields — the 30Y near 5.23% and 10Y at 4.69% — is lifting borrowing costs and rattling risk assets, with the Treasury's debt-buyback plans and a scheduled Bessent press conference keeping fiscal and supply worries front of mind. Ray Dalio warned the moves fit a pattern of a slow-building debt problem.

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Where to look next

News Digest

The full brief, split by asset type.

Fixed Income — your focus

First, the one rule that explains everything below: a bond's price and its yield move in opposite directions. When yields go up, the price of bonds you already own goes down (and vice-versa). Longer-dated bonds move more — that sensitivity is called duration.
Rates · US Treasuries

Long-bond selloff pushes 30Y to ~5.23%, 10Y to 4.69%

A sell-off concentrated in longer maturities has lifted the 30Y toward 5.23% and the 10Y to 4.69%, driven by debt-supply and inflation worries even as the 2Y sits lower at 4.19%.

How traders might react & why

Remember the see-saw: when bond prices fall, yields rise. Long-dated bonds have high 'duration', meaning their prices move most for a given yield change, so a rise in the 30Y hurts long-bond holders more than short-bond holders. When the long end sells off faster than the short end, the yield curve 'steepens' — traders read that as the market demanding more compensation for holding debt over many years (supply, inflation, or fiscal risk), rather than expecting near-term rate cuts.

Supply · Treasury

Treasury debt buyback plan and Bessent briefing in the spotlight

The Treasury's debt-buyback announcement and a press conference by Secretary Bessent on Monday have investors focused on how the government will manage a heavy funding load, a theme Ray Dalio linked to longer-run debt-sustainability risk.

How traders might react & why

Bond investors watch issuance closely because supply and demand set the price of money. If the market fears the government must sell more long-dated debt than buyers want, prices fall and yields rise until they're attractive enough to clear. A buyback (the Treasury buying back older bonds) can support prices at targeted maturities, but if traders interpret it as a sign of funding stress, they may demand a higher yield premium instead — which is why the framing of Monday's briefing matters.

Rates · China

Chinese government bonds defy the global yield surge

While yields jump across developed markets, Chinese government bond yields have stayed low, boosting their appeal as a diversifier and relative safe haven.

How traders might react & why

Bonds in different countries can move in opposite directions when their economies and central banks diverge. China's softer growth and easier policy keep its yields low, so its bond prices hold up while others fall. For a beginner, this shows why global bond investors 'diversify' across regions: when one market's prices drop (yields up), another's may rise (yields down), smoothing the overall ride.

Credit · IG

Investment-grade spreads hold tight near 82bp despite rate volatility

US investment-grade credit spreads (the extra yield over Treasuries) remain narrow at about 82 basis points, signalling that corporate-default fears stay low even as government yields swing.

How traders might react & why

A credit 'spread' is the extra yield a company pays above a government bond to compensate for default risk. Tight spreads (like 82bp) mean investors are relaxed about companies repaying — a risk-on signal. Note the split screen: government yields are rising on supply/fiscal worries, but credit spreads aren't blowing out, so the stress is being read as a rates/fiscal story rather than a corporate-health story.

Central Banks & Policy

FOMC

July minutes show officials would hike if inflation doesn't cool

Minutes of the July 28-29 FOMC meeting revealed some officials saw a need to raise rates further should inflation prove sticky, with Fed funds held at a 3.75% upper bound.

ECB

ECB consumer expectations survey released for July

The ECB published its July Consumer Expectations Survey, a gauge of household inflation and spending views that feeds into policy, with the deposit rate steady at 2.25%.

Fed · Supervision

Fed approves NatWest application, issues bank enforcement actions

The Federal Reserve Board approved an application by National Westminster Bank Plc and issued a set of enforcement and termination orders involving several US banks.

Equities & Global Markets

Risk

Wall St bounces on the day but ends week lower after rate-driven pullback

US stocks rose Friday following a sharp rate-led decline on Thursday but still closed the week down, with bond yields and Iran tensions dominating sentiment ahead of Nvidia's looming earnings.

Commodities

Gold rebounds on debt fears and a weaker dollar

Bullion recovered as investors weighed US debt concerns, stubbornly high Treasury yields and a softer dollar, reviving safe-haven demand.

Crypto

Bitcoin vaults past $75,000 in Asian trading

Bitcoin surged above $75,000 during the Asian session amid broad risk optimism, though Kalshi prediction-market traders expect it to end 2026 near current levels.

Asia & China

Macro

China stands out as a low-yield haven amid global bond turmoil

Chinese government bond yields have held low while global peers surge, strengthening the case for Chinese debt as a portfolio diversifier.

Equities

Pop Mart shares fall as ex-China sales slow, Citi cuts target

Labubu maker Pop Mart dropped after first-half results showed weaker sales outside China across Asia and the Americas, prompting Citi to lower its price target.

Regulation

India's SEBI bans JPMorgan unit as warning to traders

India's market regulator moved swiftly to ban a JPMorgan unit over its new closing-auction system, signalling a tough stance on manipulation for global traders.

Geopolitics

Iranian oil offers to China fall as US blockade bites

Offers of Iranian crude to Chinese buyers have dropped as a US blockade and looming 'toughest ever' sanctions squeeze flows, with Washington urging Beijing to cooperate.

UK Fixed Income — Gilts & BoE

Gilts · BoE

UK gilts caught in the global long-end selloff (no fresh level supplied)

British gilts are trading in sympathy with the worldwide rise in long-dated government yields led by US Treasuries; no updated UK 10Y gilt level was supplied this edition, so the snapshot tile is omitted.

How traders might react & why

Gilts rarely move in isolation — when US Treasury yields rise globally, UK gilt yields tend to follow because international investors compare the yields on offer across safe government bonds. If Treasuries cheapen (higher yield), gilts must offer more too, so gilt prices fall. The bond price/yield see-saw applies the same way: a beginner holding a long-dated gilt fund would see its value dip when yields climb, and longer-maturity gilts (higher duration) fall most.

Gilts · Banks

US Fed clears NatWest application, a cross-border UK bank signal

The Federal Reserve approved an application by National Westminster Bank Plc, a reminder of how UK banking names — large holders and issuers of sterling debt — interact with US regulators.

How traders might react & why

Big UK banks are major players in the gilt and sterling-credit markets, both as investors and as issuers of their own bonds. Regulatory approvals that ease a bank's cross-border operations are generally taken as mildly supportive for its credit standing, which can tighten the spread (extra yield over gilts) on its bonds — meaning investors demand a little less compensation to lend to it. It's a small, structural signal rather than a market-moving yield event.

Bonds & Rates

Treasury yields, policy rates, credit spreads and bond fund prices.

Government bond yields

What a bond pays you if you hold it to maturity. Moves are in basis points (1 bp = 0.01%) — and remember, a higher yield means a lower price for bonds you already own. Prices as of Sat, Aug 22, 2026 · 6:03 AM · refreshed 3× daily.
US 3M Bill
3.71%
▲ +1 bp
US 5Y Treasury
4.42%
▲ +4 bp
US 10Y Treasury
4.74%
▲ +4 bp
US 30Y Treasury
5.28%
▲ +4 bp

Policy rates & credit spreads

Verified levels behind this brief (FRED / official sources), as of Sat, Aug 22, 2026 · 7:00 AM.
US 2Y Treasury
4.19%
policy-sensitive front end
US IG OAS
82 bp
credit spreads still tight
Fed Funds (upper)
3.75%
on hold, hike risk flagged
ECB Deposit Rate
2.25%
steady

Bond prices — funds & ETFs

The actual price of a diversified basket of bonds, which is what a bond position is worth day to day. Longer-dated baskets (TLT) swing most when yields move. Prices as of Sat, Aug 22, 2026 · 6:03 AM · refreshed 3× daily.
1–3Y Treasuries (SHY)
$82.00
▼ -0.02%
7–10Y Treasuries (IEF)
$92.82
▼ -0.19%
20Y+ Treasuries (TLT)
$82.05
▼ -0.35%
US Aggregate (AGG)
$97.35
▼ -0.14%
TIPS · inflation (TIP)
$107.13
▼ -0.36%
IG corporates (LQD)
$105.92
▼ -0.13%
High yield (HYG)
$79.61
▲ +0.06%
UK gilts (IGLT.L)
GBP 9.59
▼ -0.08%
US 10Y Treasury yield
4.74% ▲ +4 bp
3mo range · 4.37%–4.74%

Oil & Energy

The whole energy complex — crude, refined products, gas and energy funds.

Crude benchmarks

Brent is the global seaborne benchmark; WTI is the US one. The gap between them tells you how tight US supply is versus the rest of the world. Prices as of Sat, Aug 22, 2026 · 6:03 AM · refreshed 3× daily.
Brent Crude
$94.39
▲ +0.65%
WTI Crude
$87.06
▼ -0.88%

Refined products & gas

What crude turns into — these feed pump prices, diesel costs and heating bills, so they drive the inflation numbers central banks react to.
Gasoline RBOB ($/gal)
$3.05
▼ -6.62%
Heating oil ($/gal)
$4.38
▼ -2.13%
Natural gas ($/MMBtu)
$2.81
▲ +2.85%

Energy funds

Tradeable proxies for the barrel and for energy equities.
WTI fund (USO)
$134.64
▲ +0.07%
Brent fund (BNO)
$53.80
▲ +0.58%
Energy sector (XLE)
$63.64
▼ -0.17%
Brent Crude
$94.39 ▲ +0.65%
3mo range · $71.57–$103.54

Equities

Global and US index levels.

Index levels

Prices as of Sat, Aug 22, 2026 · 6:03 AM · refreshed 3× daily.
S&P 500
7,674.37
▲ +0.43%
Dow Jones
53,277.01
▲ +0.98%
Nasdaq Composite
26,180.46
▲ +0.43%
Nasdaq-100
29,308.86
▲ +0.33%
PHLX Semis (SOX)
11,740.37
▼ -0.51%

My Portfolio

The two positions you actually hold.

Your positions

Prices as of Sat, Aug 22, 2026 · 6:03 AM · refreshed 3× daily.
VanEck Quantum Computing UCITS ETF
$29.48
▲ +0.34%
HGRAF
$4.44
▲ +2.07%
VanEck Quantum Computing UCITS ETF (QNTM.L)
$29.48 ▲ +0.34%
3mo range · $26.47–$34.65
HGRAF
$4.44 ▲ +2.07%
3mo range · $3.11–$5.08