Help Daily discussion thread for August 20, 2026
The US Treasury announced plans to expand debt buybacks in an effort to curb long-term yields, while weaker-than-expected Australian employment data weighed on the AUD. Meanwhile, US stock benchmarks declined as Walmart shares plummeted despite solid second-quarter earnings.
The US Treasury announced a plan to more than double buybacks to at least $4 billion per operation to curb long-term bond yields, including 30-year yields which reached 5.30%.
US stock indices dropped, with the S&P 500 falling 0.87% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreasing 1.32% amid rising concerns about US government debt.
Australia's unemployment rate rose to 4.5%, while the economy shed 15,800 jobs, exerting downward pressure on the AUD.
Walmart surpassed Q2 revenue and earnings-per-share (EPS) estimates, but subdued guidance caused its shares to fall 9.15%.
US Treasury announces buyback plan to control long-term yields
According to a report by CNBC, the US Department of the Treasury announced that it will more than double the size of its government debt repurchases, establishing a baseline of approximately $4 billion per operation. This decision aims to set an implicit ceiling on long-term government bond yields, which have reached multi-year highs. Earlier this week, the 30-year Treasury yield peaked at 5.30%—a level last recorded in 2007.
Elevated long-term government yields reflect mounting investor concerns, particularly regarding the fiscal deficit trajectory and persistent inflation. In this environment, investors have been selling long-term debt positions, placing downward pressure on bond prices and driving Treasury yields higher due to the inverse relationship between price and yield. Market participants are expressing heightened anxiety as total US sovereign debt crosses the $40 trillion threshold, with interest payments accounting for an increasing share of total government budget expenditure. This dynamics is unfolding while the underlying budget deficit continues to expand.
In response to these developments, US equity benchmarks fell in tandem: the S&P 500 index slipped 0.87% to 7,641 points, the Nasdaq 100 lost 0.72% to close at 29,213, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.32% to 52,764 points. Concurrently, the 10-year Treasury yield rose by 6.7 basis points to 4.71%, while the benchmark 30-year yield advanced by 6 basis points to 5.25%.
Australian unemployment rate rises above analysts' expectations
According to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate rose from 4.4% in June to 4.5% in July, defying analysts' forecasts of an unchanged reading. Concurrently, the Bureau reported a monthly net reduction of 15,800 jobs, missing market consensus expectations of a 15,000 increase—marking the first job contraction since April. Consequently, the unemployment rate has resumed an upward trajectory over a three-year period, complicating matters for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) as it battles inflation hovering near 3.8%.
Following the release of the economic data, the Australian dollar weakened by 0.16% against the US dollar, reflecting a challenging macroeconomic backdrop characterised by elevated inflation and cooling labour market conditions. The AUD/USD currency pair closed at $0.7121.
Figure 1. Australia Unemployment Rate (2023–2026). Source: Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics; figure retrieved from Trading Economics.
Walmart exceeds analysts' estimates, but shares decline sharply
Walmart Inc. surpassed analysts' expectations in its Q2 2026 earnings report across both total revenue and earnings per share. The retail giant reported total revenue of $187.94 billion, beating consensus estimates of $186.75 billion. Furthermore, the company delivered an adjusted EPS of $0.81, topping the market forecast of $0.74. These figures represent a year-on-year (YoY) revenue growth rate of 5.9% and a YoY EPS expansion of 19%. However, Walmart's shares dropped by 9.15% following the announcement, as its EPS guidance for both the third quarter and the full fiscal year fell short of analysts' projections.
