A Banker and a Hedge Fund Manager Walk Into the White House...

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Good Morning!

☕ Have you ever lent money to a friend?

It usually starts with, "Hey, can I borrow $50 until Friday?"

Then Friday comes.

Then another Friday.

Then you see him posting vacation pictures from Cabo.

Apparently, my $50 had a better vacation than I did. 😂

Well, America has a borrowing problem that makes my friend look like a financial genius.

And there's a strange new twist.

The people lending money to the United States are changing.

For decades, foreign central banks were some of America's most dependable lenders.

Countries like Japan and China purchased U.S. Treasury securities because they needed safe, liquid places to hold their reserves.

But according to a new Axios report, foreign central banks now account for a much smaller share of Treasury ownership.

Meanwhile, hedge funds are becoming increasingly important players in the market.

And here's why that matters.

A central bank might buy Treasury bonds and hold them for years.

A hedge fund?

It might buy them on Monday, borrow against them on Tuesday, and sell them on Wednesday because somebody in New York sneezed near an interest-rate forecast.

Okay, I'm exaggerating.

But hedge funds tend to trade more actively, and many use borrowed money to amplify their positions.

That can make markets more volatile.

And when the Treasury market gets nervous, the rest of us can feel it.

Mortgage rates.

Business loans.

Government borrowing costs.

Even the value of bonds sitting inside retirement accounts.

Here's the number that really got me.

America spent approximately $1.052 TRILLION on interest in fiscal 2026.

Not paying off the national debt.

Just servicing it.

I read that number three times.

Then I checked my credit card statement and felt strangely responsible.

But here's what fascinates me.

The government borrows money.

Investors lend it money.

And those investors collect interest.

One person's debt is another person's income-producing asset.

That's something I've heard explained in financial education for years, but this story made it click.

The question isn't simply whether debt is good or bad.

It's who owes the money, who collects the payments, and who carries the risk.

If you own a bond, you're effectively lending money to the issuer in exchange for promised payments.

If interest rates rise, the market value of an existing fixed-rate bond can fall.

And if you borrow money to invest, losses can become much more dangerous.

Suddenly, I understand why sophisticated investors spend so much time studying interest rates.

They're not just watching numbers on a screen.

They're watching the price of money itself.

And the price of money affects almost everything else we invest in.

So here's my takeaway.

Don't just watch the stock market.

Pay attention to who's borrowing, who's lending, and what they're paying for the privilege.

Because sometimes the most important financial story isn't about who made a billion dollars.

It's about who's collecting the interest on a trillion.

Trevor
Editor, Investor Journal

P.S. I asked my bank if I could borrow money at the same rate as the U.S. government.

They said, "Do you have the same credit history?"

I said, "No. I've actually paid off some of my debt."

Apparently, that wasn't the answer they were looking for. 🤷

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Top Stories

Top Stories

1. The U.S. Paid $1.052 TRILLION Just in Interest on Its Debt

The federal government's interest payments reached approximately $1.052 trillion in fiscal 2026. Meanwhile, hedge funds are playing a bigger role in the Treasury market as foreign central banks reduce their share of holdings. Read the free article

2. America Created 440,000 New Millionaires. Did You Get the Memo?

A newly published report discusses an estimated 440,000 additional U.S. millionaires in 2025 and the role of stock-market gains in rising wealth. The underlying count needs verification before using it as a firm statistic. Read the news archive

3. Hedge Funds Are Becoming Major Buyers of America's Debt

Foreign central banks are holding a smaller share of U.S. Treasury securities, while leveraged hedge funds are playing a larger role. Analysts worry this could make the bond market more volatile. Read the free article

4. AI Stocks Lost Billions. Investors Came Back for More.

AI stocks led a Wall Street recovery after significant losses the previous week. Nvidia and other technology companies rebounded even as higher borrowing costs continued to threaten valuations. Read the free AP article

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Your thoughts

The “Deadlift ETF” is a stock portfolio idea that selects companies whose CEOs lift weights or practice combat sports. The premise: the discipline that builds muscle might also help someone run a successful business.

Entrepreneur Pieter Levels popularized it online, claiming his hypothetical basket outperformed the S&P 500 over a historical period. It began as an internet experiment—not an actual exchange-traded fund you could buy. @levelsio (Pieter Levels)

The catch: strong past results don’t prove that weightlifting CEOs produce better returns. Picking companies after seeing which ones succeeded can make an entertaining theory look like a reliable investing strategy.

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