The Open Bell — Ep. 043 — 20 Aug 2026

Today on The Open Bell: The US Treasury just doubled its long-bond buyback cap to $4 billion a quarter, and whether you call it market management or something closer to the government quietly buying its own debt at record prices, it worked, because 30-year yields dropped the moment the announcement landed. The Fed's July meeting minutes are out, and the part nobody's talking about loudly enough is that three of twelve officials actually wanted to raise rates last month, which means the next mortgage rate hike was one or two votes away from being real. China's central bank held its benchmark lending rate steady this morning, and the story behind that decision is a recovery where the factories are running full tilt but ordinary consumers still aren't spending, a gap that should worry anyone watching global commodity prices. If today's episode helped something click, a five-star rating takes about ten seconds and genuinely helps other listeners find the show. Hosted by Alex Monroe. New episodes every weekday morning at theopenbell.co Not investment advice. For informational purposes only. --- Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:14 US Treasury doubles long-bond buyback cap to $4bn, sinking y 03:08 FOMC July minutes: 3 officials wanted rate hike; September o 05:40 PBoC holds Loan Prime Rate steady as China weighs uneven rec 07:33 Closing thoughtsSupport the show