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Japanese bonds rally on hopes of less supply

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Japanese bonds rally on hopes of less supply

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Japanese longer-dated bonds rallied on Tuesday after the government took the rare step of canvassing primary dealers and other market participants for their views on issuance, raising speculation it may scale back supply.

The move by the Japanese finance ministry appeared designed to restore calm to a bond market that has been racked by volatility in recent weeks, with borrowing costs rising to record highs last week.

The yield on the 30-year Japanese government bond, which hit 3.2 per cent last week, fell 0.18 percentage points to 2.85 per cent on Tuesday. The 10-year yield dropped 0.05 percentage points to 1.46 per cent. Yields move inversely to prices.

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The questionnaire was sent to a wide range of primary brokers, according to two people familiar with the situation, and sought comments on the current market situation.

They said it appeared designed to confirm that demand for super long-dated bonds was structurally low, as a precursor to a potential government decision to pull back on issuance.

Japanese yields have risen precipitously in recent months. A weak bond auction this month added to fears over low demand for longer-dated sovereign debt.

Although last week’s jump in long-dated bonds came as part of a global sell-off, several factors have added to the selling pressure in Japan. 

The Bank of Japan last year began tapering the massive bond-buying programme it undertook as part of the country’s long battle against deflation. But as the central bank has scaled back purchases, there has not been a strong rise in demand from other traditional buyers, in particular Japanese life insurers.

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The “buyers’ strike”, as some traders have described it, became clear last week when an auction of 20-year JGBs was met with the lowest level of demand in a decade. Concerns have also risen about Japan’s gross national debt, which stands at more than 200 per cent of GDP.

Analysts noted, though, that an unusually packed cluster of auctions in long-dated JGBs had also created a short-term supply glut.

MUFG analysts noted that the finance ministry’s decision to send the questionnaire “may well reflect increased concerns over yields following the poor 20-year auction last week and ahead of a 40-year bond auction tomorrow”.

US government bonds also rallied on Tuesday, with the 30-year Treasury yield down 0.06 percentage points to 4.98 per cent.

“The questionnaire looks like it is part of a strategy by the Japanese authorities to prepare the market for a temporary scaling back of super long JGB issuance,” said a person familiar with the questionnaire.

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“In other countries you might just get a clear announcement from the government: Japan prefers to generate a consensus, and present itself as acting on the strength of broad-based market opinion,” the person added.

“Markets are taking some relief from the [finance ministry’s] implicit messaging that supply of the super long end could be trimmed,” said Benjamin Shatil, a senior economist at JPMorgan.

“But the sticking point here remains the demand side of the equation. With persistent inflation, tightening domestic liquidity, and a BoJ committed to normalisation, the longer-term outlook remains one of higher Japanese yields.”

The finance ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a former Army serviceman they accused of distributing instructions on how to build explosives that were used by a man who conducted a deadly attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day last year.

The former serviceman, Jordan A. Derrick, a 40-year-old from Missouri, was charged with one count of engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license; one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device; and one count of distributing information relating to manufacturing explosives, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. The three charges together carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.

Starting in September 2023, the authorities said, Mr. Derrick was using various social media sites to share videos of himself making explosive materials, including detonators. His videos provided step-by-step instructions, and he often engaged with viewers in comments, sometimes answering their questions about the chemistry behind the explosives.

The authorities said that Mr. Derrick’s videos were downloaded by Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, who was accused of ramming a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2025, in a terrorist attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens. Mr. Jabbar was killed in a shootout with the police. Before the attack, Mr. Jabbar had placed two explosives on Bourbon Street, the authorities said, but they did not detonate.

The authorities later recovered two laptops and a USB drive in a house that Mr. Jabbar had rented. The USB drive contained several videos created by Mr. Derrick that provided instructions on making explosives. The authorities said the explosives they recovered were consistent with the ones Mr. Derrick had posted about.

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Mr. Derrick’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Derrick was a combat engineer in the Army, where he provided personnel and vehicle support, the authorities said. He also helped supervise safety personnel during demolitions and various operations. He was honorably discharged in February 2013.

The authorities did not say whether Mr. Derrick had any communication with Mr. Jabbar, or whether the men had known each other. In some of Mr. Derrick’s videos and comments, he indicated that he was aware that his videos could be misused.

“There are a plethora of uh, moral, you know, entanglements with topics, any topic of teaching explosives, right?” he asked in one video, according to the affidavit. “Of course, the wrong people could get it.”

The authorities also said that an explosion occurred at a private residence in Odessa, Mo., on May 4, and the occupant of the residence told investigators that he had manufactured explosives after watching online tutorials from Mr. Derrick.

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Mr. Derrick’s YouTube account had more than 15,000 subscribers and 20 published videos, the affidavit said. He had also posted content on other platforms, including Odysee and Patreon. Some videos were accessible to the public for free, while others required a paid subscription to view.

“My responsibility to my countrymen is to make sure that I serve the function of the Second Amendment to strengthen it,” Mr. Derrick said in one of his videos, according to the affidavit. “This is how I serve my country for real.”

Outside of the income he received through content creation, Mr. Derrick did not have any known employment. He did receive a monthly disability check from Veterans Affairs, the affidavit stated.

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded
Allegations pile up, but Child Protective Services declines to investigate and the school district continues to promote Ronnie Stoner. We include an update at the end of the episode. “The Girls” is a 4-part series from the Louisville Public Media’s investigative podcast, Dig.
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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

A streamer known for hurling racist slurs in public settings under the nickname “Chud the Builder” was charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse on Wednesday, the authorities said.

The streamer, Dalton Eatherly, 28, was involved in a confrontation with an unidentified man that escalated to gunfire outside the Montgomery County Court in Clarksville, about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Both men sustained gunshot wounds and were in stable condition, the office said.

In addition to attempted murder, Mr. Eatherly was charged with employing a firearm during dangerous felony, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, the sheriff’s office said.

Mr. Eatherly, who is white, has accumulated an online audience by livestreaming confrontations in which he uses racist language toward Black people in public.

Law enforcement did not provide any details about the second man involved in Wednesday’s shooting. Mr. Eatherly posted an audio recording online of paramedics treating his wounds in which he claims he shot the man in self-defense.

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A video posted by the website Clarksville Now shows Mr. Eatherly on a stretcher with a microphone attached to his lapel.

Mr. Eatherly is being held at the Montgomery County Jail, pending arraignment, the sheriff’s office said.

According to court records, Mr. Eatherly was scheduled to appear for a court hearing on Wednesday morning in an unrelated case brought by Midland Credit Management, a collections agency.

A lawyer listed in court records from a separate harassment case in which Mr. Eatherly was a defendant in November did not respond to a request for comment.

On Sunday, three days before the shooting in Clarksville, Mr. Eatherly was arrested in Nashville. According to a police affidavit, Mr. Eatherly live streamed his meal at a restaurant, Bob’s Steak and Chop House, on Saturday even though the restaurant had asked him ahead of time not to do so.

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When he was confronted, Mr. Eatherly “became disruptive and started making racial statements, yelling, screaming and otherwise creating a scene,” according to the affidavit.

He then refused to pay for his $370 meal. Mr. Eatherly was charged with theft of services, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was released on $5,000 bond.

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