Sources say the Brazilian government will extend gasoline subsidies until September 9th, local time.

A power outage occurred at the Shimkent oil refinery in Kazakhstan, but production was not affected.

Intervention in the Bond Market 1. Satori Insights: Only deficit reduction, a stock market downturn, or a cooling of AI investment can truly lower yields. 2. Bank of America: Bessant is still unable to push the 30-year Treasury yield below 5%. If so, both the dollar and the bond market could come under pressure. 3. Citadel Securities: The US Treasury's attempt to curb long-term borrowing costs through bond buybacks constitutes "financial repression," which could weaken the dollar and push up inflation. 4. AllianceBernstein: Bessant doesn't actually have a good way to reduce the national debt, and it has no control over US federal spending. Without congressional approval, Bessant cannot change tax policy. 5. Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Last year's painful lesson from the US Department of Efficiency highlights the difficulty of reducing government spending or raising taxes. If Bessant's consolidation efforts are limited this time, it will further depress the dollar. 6. Evercore ISI: The government is currently finding it difficult to take any substantial action on the deficit issue. Besides national debt interest payments, this year's deficit, which is about 6% of GDP, is mainly driven by massive welfare spending. 7. Bessant's mentor, Druckenmiller: Buying back US Treasury bonds was a mistake. The 10-year yield is currently roughly near the nominal economic growth rate, meaning financial conditions are accommodative, not restrictive. Sanctions against Iran 1. Brookings Institution: The so-called "Economic D-Day" is nothing but "hype and propaganda." 2. Capital Economics: Iranian oil exports are already restricted; the new sanctions will have a negligible impact on Iran's energy revenue. 3. Former US Special Envoy for Iran: The new US sanctions against Iran are both "illegal" and ineffective, and could provoke retaliation and escalation. 4. Quincy Institute: Bessant's failure to specify the US demands will make Iran feel that the US aims to force it to "surrender." 5. Atlantic Council: Bessant's so-called "Economic D-Day" is more like a final warning than a full-scale economic operation. 6. CNN: Bessant threatened countries that trade with Iran, but provided almost no specific details of the strategy. His statement was essentially a repetition of Trump’s remarks on economic sanctions.