Bonds & Stocks
US Treasuries fell, snapping three days of gains, as traders pared bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts after Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his commitment to keeping inflation in check. Yields rose across the curve, reversing much of Wednesday’s gains and sending the benchmark 10-year rate to 4.30%.
Economy
President Donald Trump said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s termination from his position can’t come quickly enough, arguing that the US central bank should have lowered interest rates already this year, and in any case should do so now.
World
Protests driven by financial grievances in China saw a steep increase in the months before Donald Trump’s return to power set off a trade war with Beijing that now threatens millions of jobs. Cases of economic protest rose by 41% in the fourth quarter from the same period last year, according to data compiled by Freedom House’s China Dissent Monitor.