MARKET WRAPS

STOCKS: Stocks rose after the Treasury Department said it would ramp up bond repurchases.

TREASURYS: Treasury yields settled mixed as the U.S. government planned to buy back more of its long-term debt.

FOREX: The U.S. dollar fell against rivals after the expansion of the bond buyback program.

COMMODITIES: Oil futures rose for the fourth straight session as efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remained at an impasse.

HEADLINES

U.S. to Buy Back More Longer-Term Bonds

The U.S. Treasury said Wednesday it will buy back more of its

longer-term bonds, in an effort to curb a sharp increase in borrowing

costs.

"The current maximum size of $2 billion per operation will be at least

$4 billion per operation," the department said in a statement.

The new buyback targets longer-dated nominal coupon securities with

maturities 10 years or longer. It will take effect Sept. 9 through Nov.

4, the Treasury said. It will give an update on future buyback sizes at

the next quarterly refunding, scheduled for Nov. 4.

Fed Minutes Show 'Many' Officials Prefer Hiking Rates If Inflation

Doesn't Decline

The minutes from July's Federal Reserve policy meeting, released

Wednesday, provided few clues into how policymakers are thinking about

the path forward for interest rates.

"Many" policymakers assessed that tightening policy would "likely be

necessary" if inflation doesn't decline, the minutes noted. No indication

of their thinking around when a hike might be necessary was given. Only

"some" policymakers felt that the current rate policy might not be

"sufficiently restrictive" to achieve the Fed's 2% inflation goal.

In July, three Fed presidents dissented against the decision to hold

interest rates steady. They argued that the central bank should be hiking

interest rates instead, since core inflation, then sitting at 2.6%, was

still well above their 2% target, and inflationary pressures in the

energy and tech sectors could broaden across the economy.

U.S. Eyes Lower Tariffs on Metals and Autos in Canada Trade Deal

The U.S. is likely to lower tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and

automobiles as part of a trade framework being devised by the nations,

according to people with knowledge of the negotiations.

Though the deal hasn't been finalized, the U.S. is considering a plan

to lower tariffs on steel and aluminum from 50% to 25%, and decrease

top-line tariffs on automobiles from 25% to 15%, the people said. They

cautioned that terms of the deal could change before any official

announcement, and details are still being worked out.

The moves would come as part of a trade deal between the countries

that President Trump announced on Tuesday night, less than two hours

before a separate set of tariffs on Canada was scheduled to take effect

early Wednesday. He said that the imposition of 50% tariffs on some $20

billion worth of Canadian goods would be paused for three days while

negotiations continued.

U.S. Debt Just Topped $40 Trillion: How We Got Here

Gross U.S. debt has surpassed $40 trillion, a new milestone in the

country's struggle to control its finances.

The country's "total public debt outstanding" officially hit $40.047

trillion on Tuesday, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday, ticking

up from $39.987 trillion a day earlier.

Reaching that threshold carries symbolic weight, but isn't, by itself,

economically significant. Most investors and economists care less about

raw figures than other measures, like the ratio of debt to gross domestic

product, which provides a better sense of an economy's borrowing

capacity.

Moderna Shares More Than Double on Success of mRNA Cancer Vaccine

An experimental mRNA-based vaccine succeeded in preventing cancer from

coming back or spreading in a study of high-risk melanoma patients,

Moderna and its partner Merck said Wednesday, paving the way for a

potentially new life-extending treatment for the thousands of people

diagnosed with the deadly skin cancer each year.

Moderna shares more than doubled Wednesday, while Merck's stock hit an

all-time high.

The positive results rippled through drug industry stocks as investors

saw the potential for more future blockbusters. It is the second major

oncology breakthrough in recent months after a different drug succeeded

in extending the lives of people with pancreatic cancer, a notoriously

lethal disease.

OpenAI's Latest Bid to Fight Anthropic: A Promise Not to Keep Customer

Data

OpenAI promised not to retain data from businesses using its

artificial-intelligence models while increasing the safety of its

products, a bid to snatch customers from rival Anthropic who are upset

the maker of Claude is keeping their information.

The maker of ChatGPT said Wednesday that it was previewing new

technology to some customers that let it detect patterns and safety risks

across multiple interactions with its models. The goal is to move beyond

previous AI safety systems that monitored interactions individually,

which made it difficult to ensure tools were being used properly without

retaining some customer data.

The pledge stands in contrast to Anthropic's policy of keeping

customer data for 30 days to ensure the safety of its latest models. The

move has drawn criticism from tech leaders including White House AI

adviser and venture capitalist David Sacks, Microsoft Chief Executive

Satya Nadella and Palantir's Alex Karp, who have argued that businesses

need certainty that AI companies aren't keeping their data, particularly

in regulated industries such as healthcare and finance.

Target Raises Fiscal-Year Forecast Again as Turnaround Gains Traction

With Consumers

Target once again raised its fiscal-year outlook, as the retailer's

turnaround takes shape and draws in more customers.

The company has been refreshing its product assortment, lowering

prices on some items and rejiggering its store layouts as part of a

sweeping plan that aims to reverse years of sluggish sales. The strategy

was implemented by Chief Executive Michael Fiddelke, who took the helm

earlier this year.

Target's second-quarter results are further proof the strategy is

resonating with customers, Fiddelke said. The company during the period

completed its highest volume of in-store transitions in the past decade,

and comparable sales-which tracks stores and digital channels operating

for at least 12 months-ticked up 3.8% on increased traffic.

FTC Warns Retailers on Using Private Consumer Data to Raise Prices

Merchants have become increasingly skilled at using consumers'

personal data, including their online shopping habits and smartphone use,

to calculate an individual's tolerance for higher prices. Now the Federal

Trade Commission is putting companies on notice that the practice could

violate consumer-protection law.

In a new enforcement bulletin to be released Wednesday, the commission

will tell companies that they must disclose when they use highly detailed

information about individuals to personalize a price offer. The new

statement puts the Trump administration's imprint on a burgeoning

movement to rein in how merchants use price-setting algorithms.

Companies must offer "clear and conspicuous" disclosure of any

personalized pricing, including the type of data that was used to

generate the offer, the FTC said in its statement. The agency says it

lacks authority to prohibit the practice, but will "deploy enforcement

resources" when it spots companies that don't follow its disclosure

standards.

TALKING POINT Cantor Lets Hedge Funds Place Big Bets on Kalshi's Prediction Markets

Cantor Fitzgerald plans to give investment funds access to Kalshi's prediction markets.

Cantor's some 3,000 institutional clients, which range from family offices to hedge funds, will have full access to Kalshi's suite of events-based, yes-or-no contracts such as those tied to weather, commodities and corporate results.