• Despite indications of resilience in the US economy, Fed/Waller reinforced his proposal for a 25 basis point cut in the interest rate in the Fed’s policy meeting on July 29-30. Waller, a potential replacement for the current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, replied that with inflation at target and minimal upside risks, the Fed should move now to preserve labor market momentum and not delay until it has passed.

• By contrast, the Trump administration will release its “AI Action Plan” in the coming days, urging eased regulation, more sources of energy for data centers, and federal law to preclude AI from being preempted by state regulation.

• In the global trade arena, China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao indicated a desire for “healthy and sustainable development” in trade between the United States and China, referencing the strength of Chinese trade and the impossibility of “forced decoupling.” He acknowledged that both sides have derived advantage from learning from past “ups and downs” and that part of their trade is not readily replaceable in the short term.

• Japan has a heavy selling of government bonds (JGBs) and weakening yen, supported by doubt over the result of Sunday’s upper house election. Polls show Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling coalition stands to lose its majority, and with it, concerns over potential shifts towards more loose fiscal policy and further battering the nation’s debt and currency.