Small businesses, borrowers, and anyone carrying credit card debt are on the losing end as Washington squeezes lending and inflation heats back up.

• The Trump administration is sitting on $289 million Congress set aside for small business loans, calling the program "woke" without evidence to back it.
• New rules would let companies earning up to $1 billion count as "small," letting big firms grab loans and federal contracts meant for tiny ones.
• Inflation came in hotter than expected and growth slowed, a bad mix that has some Fed officials pushing to raise rates rather than cut.
• Diesel is near record highs because Ukrainian drone strikes have knocked out Russian refineries and the Strait of Hormuz closure pushed oil up, hammering truckers and farmers.
• Treasury Secretary Bessent is buying back government bonds to hold long-term rates down, a move that weakens the dollar and clashes with new Fed chair Kevin Warsh's views.

Outlook: Warsh speaks at the Fed's Jackson Hole conference Friday, and a rate hike would mean costlier mortgages, car loans, and credit card debt for Americans already leaning on plastic to get by.