Japan's trade deficit widened to 1.1 trillion yen in August as energy import costs surged due to high oil prices and the Iran conflict, with petroleum imports from the U.S. jumping over 1,000% year-on-year. Export growth slowed for the first time in six months but still beat expectations at 19.3%, driven by semiconductor equipment shipments to China and the U.S.
Wall Street is assessing the impact of a potential AI model development slowdown on data center infrastructure investments, after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposed slowing frontier model development. Major stocks in AI infrastructure—including Oracle, GE Vernova, and Caterpillar—declined sharply on the news, while hyperscalers rush to secure debt financing amid growing pressure on data center expansion.
U.S. Treasury yields rose to their highest levels since November 2023 following the Treasury Department's announcement of a $6 billion debt buyback plan, despite expectations on Wall Street that the repurchases would be larger. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.845%, with yields across multiple maturities increasing alongside rising oil prices, though rates eased slightly after a strong 10-year Treasury auction.