Global Bond Rout, Meta’s Trillion-Dollar Threat, Mike Ashley's Property Empire

Your morning briefing. All the news you need to start your day.

On today's podcast:

(1) Longer-maturity bonds are at the epicenter of investor angst about everything from inflation to the debt-laden artificial-intelligence boom — and governments are paying the price.

(2) The prospects for peace in the Middle East suffered a fresh setback, with President Donald Trump saying he’s not interested in extending the expiring agreement with Iran and tensions flaring anew in the Strait of Hormuz.

(3) Russia’s hybrid war in Europe has already begun, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said, following warnings of Moscow’s attempts to intimidate nations supporting Ukraine.

(4) China’s economy showed across-the-board weakness in July and growth likely slipped further below the government’s annual target, sparking a call from Premier Li Qiang on officials to ramp up supportive measures.

(5) Meta Platforms is headed to court Tuesday for a high-stakes showdown with a coalition of state attorneys general over claims that the company deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to encourage compulsive use among young users.

(6) Anthropic is on track to generate annualized revenue of more than $65 billion based on its current performance, according to people familiar with the matter, up more than sevenfold from its pace at the end of last year.

(7) Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has built a real estate empire and now owns around 8 million square feet of retail park and shopping center space, part of what the company’s CEO Michael Murray said is a 16 million-square-foot portfolio worth £2 billion.

Podcast Conversation: America Has More Money, Europe Has Better Manners

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