US Debt Crosses $40 Trillion: Every $1T in 5 Months
US public debt topped $40 trillion on Aug 18, 2026, per Treasury. The last two trillion arrived in about five months each.
Stock Market
Moderna +177%, Merck +13% on Melanoma Vaccine Phase 3 Win
Moderna soared 177% and Merck jumped 13% on Aug 19 after intismeran plus Keytruda hit its primary endpoint in the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 melanoma trial.
Global 30Y Yields Surge: US 5.31%, UK 5.83%, Japan 4.13%
Long-dated sovereign yields hit multi-year highs across the US, UK, Germany, and Japan in mid-August 2026 as buyers demand more term premium.
IG Bond Buyers Yank 36% of Orders as Supply Overwhelms
US investment-grade bond issuance is on a record 2026 pace, but buyers pulled 36% of orders this week after pricing was squeezed — twice the prior week.
US Borrows $432B in July; FY26 Deficit Already Tops FY25
July’s $432B deficit pushes FY26 borrowing past $1.8T in 10 months — more than all of FY25 — as tariff refunds bleed receipts and debt nears $40T.
Palmer Luckey’s Erebor Nears $1.5B Round at $9.5B
Erebor, the tech-focused bank co-founded by Palmer Luckey, is in talks to raise $1.5B at a $9.5B valuation — more than doubling in eight months.
Payrolls Shrink in July: -23,000 Jobs, Rate-Cut Bets Surge
US payrolls unexpectedly contracted by 23,000 in July vs consensus of +85,000. Unemployment eased to 4.1% as bonds rallied and September rate-cut odds jumped.
Credit Spreads at 20-Year Tights as Supply Tops $1.7T
IG at 81bps, HY at 281bps, and $1.68T of corporate bonds already issued YTD — why record supply keeps meeting record demand in the credit market.
Robinhood’s $200M RVII Fund: Retail Access to YC Startups
Robinhood filed to list RVII, a $200M NYSE-traded BDC that lets any retail investor buy exposure to Y Combinator startups. Structure, fees, and catches.
Fed Launches Pilot Survey of $1.3T Private Credit Market
Dallas and NY Fed will pilot the first regular data pull on private credit after Q3, with initial findings due Q1 2027. Here’s what it will track.