The Treasury's attempt to push long-term interest rates down flopped within a day, which is bad for bond investors and stocks but good for Bitcoin.

• The Treasury borrowed short-term money to buy longer-term government bonds, hoping to lower rates — rates snapped right back up.
• The move backfired by telling investors the government is willing to meddle in the world's biggest bond market, so they now demand higher yields.
• Bitcoin jumped hard, partly as a protest bet on something Washington can't manipulate, helped by a White House crypto summit and friendlier talk from regulators.
• Oil keeps climbing toward the mid-90s on Brent as Trump threatens a "crushing" economic campaign against Iran.
• Scott Bessent insists rates don't reflect the real economy and that the deficit has likely peaked — a hard sell with tariffs, war, and tax cuts all pushing inflation up.

Outlook: More weakness in stocks into the Jackson Hole meeting on August 27, then a likely buying opportunity heading into year-end.