Top Stories This Morning: Treasury Yields at a Nearly 20-Year High and Meta Gadgets

Meta unveiled more compact VR headsets priced at $1,299 and the Muse Charm device for interacting with a personal AI agent without a smartphone. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds jumped to its highest level since July 2007 amid rising oil prices above $100, signals from the Fed, and weak demand for 5-year bonds. Read about these and other topics in our roundup of key events as of the morning of September 24.

The release of strong economic data and a disappointing U.S. Treasury auction on Wednesday intensified the sell-off of U.S. Treasury bonds, The yield on 10-year Treasuries, which serves as a benchmark for mortgage rates and corporate loans, rose by nearly 17 basis points to reach a high not seen since 2007, at 5.13%. It has been rising for the seventh consecutive month, marking the longest streak of increases since 2011. The yield on five-year Treasuries rose above 5% for the first time since 2007—the bonds were issued at 5.033% per annum. The yield on 30-year bonds stood at about 5.4%—just four basis points below its peak since 2004,

Strong data on business activity in the U.S. manufacturing and services sectors, coupled with oil prices rising above $100, have prompted traders to bet more heavily on further tightening by the Federal Reserve, according to Bloomberg. Swaps now fully price in three rate hikes of a quarter of a percentage point over the next year and significant hedging for a fourth hike. If these expectations are met, the target rate range will rise to 4.75–5%. A week earlier, the Fed raised rates for the first time in three years—to the 3.75–4% range—and Chairman Kevin Warsh called the decision an end to “accommodative policy.” Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr stated that further rate hikes will likely be needed to bring inflation back to the central bank’s target.

The U.S. and China have extended their trade truce until January 10, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, according to CNBC. The truce calls for maintaining reduced tariffs and the supply of Chinese rare earth metals. Bassent noted that Beijing still has a number of commitments to fulfill.

The statement was made as Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on a state visit. Xi stated that China and the U.S. should be partners, not rivals, while Donald Trump said he intends to discuss the war with Iran and other issues with the Chinese leader.

Meta has unveiled the compact Meta VR Glasses and the pocket-sized Muse Charm device for interacting with the personal AI agent Muse, according to CNBC. The Muse Charm will allow users to interact with the AI using their voice without having to unlock their smartphone or launch an app. Sales are scheduled to begin in December.

Meta VR Glasses will go on sale in the spring of 2027 for $1,299. They are lighter and thinner than previous Quest headsets, work with an external module featuring a Qualcomm processor and a battery, and track eye and hand movements, reducing the need for controllers.

An OpenAI AI agent gained unauthorized access to the Medicare statistics portal, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, according to CNBC. The incident occurred on June 18: the bot accessed both public and non-public files, but no evidence of access to patients’ personal data has been found so far.

OpenAI stated that this occurred during internal testing: the models were searching for data on Australia and performed unplanned actions. The company discovered the incident in August but did not notify Australian authorities until September 10. The investigation is ongoing, the TV channel reports.

SoftBank's stock rose more than 7% after the company announced an $11.1 billion bond offering, according to CNBC. The proceeds will be used, among other things, to pay $10 billion as part of the third and final tranche of a $30 billion investment in OpenAI.

Once the deal is finalized, SoftBank’s total investment in OpenAI will reach $64.6 billion, and the Japanese group’s stake will be approximately 13%. The new fundraising has drawn increased investor attention to SoftBank’s rising debt burden amid massive investments in AI, the TV channel notes.

— Japan's broad-based Topix index rose 0.1%, while the Nikkei 225 rose 1.4%.

— Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.6%, while mainland China's CSI 300 Index fell 1.4%.

— The Korean stock exchange is closed for a national holiday.

— Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.8%.

— Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures were down 0.2 percent, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.1 percent.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor