Bonds & Stocks
Treasury yields retreated from near session highs after the first of Thursday’s US economic data releases were weaker than anticipated. Weekly jobless claims data showed a bigger-than-expected increase in new filing, while the Philadelphia Fed’s August business outlook index unexpectedly retreated.
Economy
The Federal Reserve’s independence has come under increasing political pressure from US President Donald Trump, who’s repeatedly assailed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates and most recently called on Governor Lisa Cook to resign. Across simulated scenarios, the near-term macroeconomic impact looks superficially positive, with a boost to real GDP growth and drop in the unemployment rate. But those gains come at the expense of eroded credibility, higher inflation expectations, risks to financial market stability and increased fiscal servicing costs later on.
World
Boeing Co. is heading closer to finalizing a deal with China to sell as many as 500 aircraft, according to people familiar with the matter. The mega sale to China is contingent on the two nations diffusing the trade hostilities that hark back to US President Donald Trump’s first term in office — and could still fall apart, people said. Chinese officials have already started consulting domestic airlines about how many Boeing aircraft they’ll need.