Hottest month ever.

Slow-burning Minsky moments.

"We seem to live in an era of rolling financial crisis. I suspect this is the result of a massive build-up of private-sector debt. Sometimes these build-ups are accompanied by very high rates of credit growth, giving rise to a credit bubble. On other occasions, these build-ups sit simmering in the background, largely unnoticed until the proverbial s**t hits the fan, when they suddenly act as an amplifier causing a much steeper decline than would otherwise have been the case. I call these systemic vulnerabilities 'slow burn Minsky moments.' Sadly, most markets appear to carry the fingerprints of these moments today."

— Financial Times

Capital rules.

The Fed, led by Chair Jerome Powell, has pushed through a historic run of rate increases over the past year. Photo: Nathan Howard | Bloomberg News

Wall Street banks are facing one of the biggest regulatory overhauls since the financial crisis. The Fed’s Michael Barr proposed lowering the threshold for new capital requirements to $100 billion from $700 billion, and wants more standardization in risk assessments. The top regulator said financial firms must set aside more cash to act as a cushion to protect against losses. Barr was also one of three Fed officials calling for more tightening this year, saying “We still have a bit of work to do.”

Fed minutes reveal divisions?.

Federal Reserve officials struck a tenuous agreement to pause interest-rate increases at their June meeting, all but committing to hike again later this month in a bid to keep fighting stubborn inflation. The minutes from the Fed’s June 13-14 meeting show that while almost all officials deemed it “appropriate or acceptable” to keep rates unchanged in a 5% to 5.25% target range, some would have supported a quarter-point increase instead. The minutes also showed that a large majority of policymakers – “almost all” – agreed that more tightening will likely be needed this year. It provided ample evidence that the Fed likely isn’t done.