債券殖利率創2007年以來新高，通漲擔憂加劇（2/2）

Recently The New York Times reported the following:

Bond Yields Hit Highest Level Since 2007 as Inflation Fears Set In (2/2)

The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield hasn’t been this high since the lead-up to the global financial crisis. Across Europe and Asia, yields are also elevated.

The NYT - By Joe Rennison - Emmett Lindner contributed reporting. Joe Rennison writes about financial markets, a beat that ranges from chronicling the vagaries of the stock market to explaining the often-inscrutable trading decisions of Wall Street insiders.

May 19, 2026

(continue)

In Europe, world leaders met on Tuesday to discuss ways to temper inflation, though many in the group were upset about a U.S. decision this week to further ease sanctions on Russian seaborne oil in an attempt to bring down global fuel costs. Some European officials said the move rewarded Russia while its aggression in Ukraine continued.

“I think there is just a lot of fear out there right now and a collective hesitancy to step in front of the sell-off,” said Vail Hartman, a U.S. rates strategist at BMO Capital Markets, noting concerns that yields could continue to move higher.

Unlike during last year’s tariff turmoil, Mr. Trump appears less willing to back down over Iran, analysts say. The economy is otherwise in good shape, underpinned by the growth of artificial intelligence and blockbuster corporate profits. The stock market has risen for seven consecutive weeks, hitting record highs along the way.

But the rising rates are also starting to add pressure on stocks. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell about 0.7 percent, its third consecutive daily drop, as investors awaited developments in the tenuous cease-fire in the Iran war. When asked on Tuesday how long Iran had to return to the negotiating table, Mr. Trump said: “Two or three days. Maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Maybe early next week. A limited period of time.”

The climbing Treasury yields could complicate Mr. Trump’s other economic priorities, like jump-starting the stalled housing market.

The 10-year Treasury yield, which underpins borrowing costs for mortgages, has also surged higher since the start of the war with Iran.

That yield has risen roughly three-quarters of a percentage point since the war began, to 4.67 percent, its highest level since the start of 2025. The average 30-year mortgage rate has risen to 6.36 percent from below 6 percent before the war, according to data from the housing agency Freddie Mac.

Some of the increasing Treasury yields are driven by anticipation that the Fed will potentially need to raise the short-dated interest rates it controls to try to slow inflation. These expectation are increasing even with the appointment of the new Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, whom Mr. Trump picked with hopes of lowering rates.

Before the war began, investors had expected the Fed to cut rates at least half a percentage point by January. Now, they have lowered those expectations to a quarter-point rise, based on prices in interest rate futures markets.

“There is a feeling that this is going to get worse before it gets better,” said Joseph Purtell, a portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, adding that the market is “pricing in some kind of premium for that uncertainty.”

Translation

債券殖利率創2007年以來新高，通漲擔憂加劇（2/2）

 30 年期美國公債殖利率創下自全球金融危機爆發以來的最高水平， 歐洲和亞洲的收益率也同樣居高不下

（繼續）

 世界各國領導人週二在歐洲舉行會議，討論如何抑制通漲。然而，與會的許多人對美國本週決定進一步放寬對俄羅斯海運石油的制裁感到不滿，此舉旨在降低全球燃料價格。一些歐洲官員表示，此舉實際上是在獎勵俄羅斯，而俄羅斯在烏克蘭的侵略行為仍在繼續。

BMO資本市場美國利率策略師Vail Hartman指出人們擔心收益率可能會繼續攀升，並說: 「我認為目前市場瀰漫著恐慌情緒，對於介入集體拋售在猶疑中」。

分析人士稱，與去年的關稅風波不同，特朗普先生似乎不太願意在伊朗問題上做出讓步。除此之外，美國經濟狀況良好，這得益於人工智能的蓬勃發展和企業利潤的飆升。股市已連續七週上漲，並屢創新高。

但利率上升也開始給股市帶來壓力。週二，標普500指數下跌約0.7%，連續第三個交易日下跌，投資人正密切關注伊朗戰爭脆弱的停火協議的進展。週二，當被問及伊朗還有多少時間重返談判桌時，特朗普先生表示：“兩三天。也許是周五、週六、週日。也許是下週初。時間有限。”

不斷攀升的美國公債殖利率可能會使特朗普先生的其他經濟優先事項變得更加複雜，例如重啟停滯不前的房地產市場。

作為抵押貸款成本基準的10年期美國公債殖利率自伊朗戰爭爆發以來也大幅上升。

自戰爭開始以來，該殖利率已上漲約0.75個百分點，達到4.67%，為2025年以來的最高水平。根據住房中介Freddie Mac的數據，30年期抵押貸款的平均利率已從戰前的不到6%升至6.36%。

美國公債殖利率上漲的部分原因是市場預期聯儲局可能需要提高其控制的短期利率以抑制通漲。這些預期仍在上升，即使特朗普任命了新的聯儲局主席凱文沃什（Kevin Warsh）並希望他能降低利率。

在伊朗戰爭爆發前，投資人曾預期聯儲局將在1月至少降息0.5個百分點。如今，根據利率期貨市場的價格，他們已將這項預期下調至升息0.25個百分點。

Neuberger Berman的投資組合經理Joseph Purtell表示：「人們感覺情況會先惡化後好轉」。他還補充說，市場「已經為這種不確定性計入了一定的溢價」。

              So, bond markets are pushing the rates on U.S. Treasuries to levels not seen since the global financial crisis nearly 20 years ago. The rising rates, which are pushing up borrowing costs for governments, homeowners and businesses, could be a critical pressure point for the Trump administration as it continues to pursue its campaign against Iran. I am interested in knowing how and when Trump will end this conflict.

債券殖利率創2007年以來新高，通漲擔憂加劇（1/2）

Recently The New York Times reported the following:

Bond Yields Hit Highest Level Since 2007 as Inflation Fears Set In (1/2)

The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield hasn’t been this high since the lead-up to the global financial crisis. Across Europe and Asia, yields are also elevated.

The NYT - By Joe Rennison - Emmett Lindner contributed reporting. Joe Rennison writes about financial markets, a beat that ranges from chronicling the vagaries of the stock market to explaining the often-inscrutable trading decisions of Wall Street insiders.

May 19, 2026

Bond markets convulsed on Tuesday, pushing the rates on U.S. Treasuries to levels not seen since the global financial crisis nearly 20 years ago, as investors grew increasingly anxious about rising inflation because of the war in Iran.

The yield on the 30-year Treasury note rose to 5.18 percent on Tuesday, its highest level since 2007. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

The rising rates, which are pushing up borrowing costs for governments, homeowners and businesses, could be a critical pressure point for the Trump administration as it continues to pursue its campaign against Iran, which has pushed up oil prices worldwide.

The last time President Trump faced such turmoil in the Treasury market was after he announced in April last year that he would raise tariffs on nearly every U.S. trading partner. The steepening rates were cited as a primary reason that Mr. Trump later backed down from many of his most draconian proposals.

This time, investors across the world are becoming increasingly concerned about the fallout from the monthslong conflict in the Middle East, where, despite a cease-fire between the United States and Iran, efforts to find a lasting peace deal have stalled.

The yields on 30-year bonds in Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Switzerland all traded at their 12-month high on Tuesday. Across the rest of Europe and Asia, the long yield was also elevated

In Britain, the tumult in the government bond market is even more extreme. A leadership crisis facing Prime Minister Keir Starmer has helped push the country’s 30-year bond to its highest level since 1998.

Japan’s 30-year bond yield sits at 4.13 percent, the highest it has ever been, as rising energy prices strain the country’s already struggling economy.

Bond investors around the world are focused on the continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping lane that before the war had funneled roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply, predominantly to Asia and some parts of Europe.

In the United States, the impact of higher oil prices was reflected in a series of inflation reports last week showing consumer and producer prices both rising at their fastest pace in several years.

Another factor weighing on the Treasury market is last weekend’s summit between Mr. Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping. Investors’ hopes that the much anticipated meeting would result in China’s help with ending the war in Iran were dashed.

(to be continued)

Translation

債券殖利率創2007年以來新高，通漲擔憂加劇（1/2）

30 年期美國公債殖利率創下自全球金融危機爆發以來的最高水平， 歐洲和亞洲的收益率也同樣居高不下

週二，債券市場劇烈震盪，美國公債殖利率飆升至近20年前全球金融危機以來的最高水平。投資者對伊朗戰爭引發的通漲上升日益擔憂。

週二，30年期美國公債殖利率升至5.18%，創下2007年以來的最高水準。債券收益率與價格呈反向關係。

利率上升推高了政府、房主和企業的借貸成本，這可能成為特朗普政府面臨​​的關鍵壓力點，因為該政府仍在繼續推進其針對伊朗的行動，而伊朗的行動已推高了全球油價。

特朗普總統上一次面臨如此劇烈的國債市場動盪，是在去年4月他宣布將對幾乎所有美國貿易夥伴提高關稅之後。利率飆升被認為是特朗普後來放棄許多最嚴厲提案的主要原因。

這一次，全球投資者越來越擔心持續數月的中東衝突可能帶來的後果。儘管美國和伊朗之間達成了停火協議，但尋求持久和平協議的努力卻陷入了僵局。

週二，加拿大、德國、法國、西班牙、葡萄牙、荷蘭和瑞士的30年期公債殖利率均創下12個月新高。歐洲和亞洲其他地區的長期國債殖利率也升高。

在英國，政府公債市場的動盪更為極端。總理施紀賢面臨的領導危機，推動英國30年期公債殖利率升至1998年以來的最高水準。

日本30年期公債殖利率高達4.13%，創歷史新高，能源價格上漲令該國本已疲軟的經濟雪上加霜。

全球債券投資者關注的焦點是霍爾木茲海峽持續的封鎖。這條重要的航道在戰前曾輸送全球約五分之一的石油，主要運往亞洲和歐洲部分地區。

在美國，上周公佈的一系列通膨報告反映了油價上漲的影響，數據顯示消費者價格和生產者價格均以近幾年來最快的速度上漲。

另一個令美國國債市場承壓的因素是上週末特朗普與中國領導人習近平的峰會。投資人原本寄望於此次備受矚目的會晤能促使中國協助結束伊朗戰爭，但這項希望最終落空。

（待續）

史前牙齒中的蛋白質揭示出石器時代早期人類物種之間有那樣的性接觸（2/2）

Recently CNN.com reported the following:

What proteins in prehistoric teeth reveal about Stone Age sex between early human species (2/2)

CNN- By Katie Hunt

UPDATED MAY 14, 2026

(continue)

‘Ghost lineage’

Geneticists knew that Denisovans had some ancestry from an unknown “ghost lineage” with no DNA match, and Homo erectus was one possible candidate, said Eduard Pop, a research scientist at Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, Netherlands, via email.

“This study strengthens that link,” said Pop, who is working with researchers to understand if protein information is preserved in Homo erectus fossils found in Indonesia.

“It suggests that East Asian Homo erectus-related populations may have contributed genetically to Denisovans, and through them indirectly to some modern humans,” he said.

“So it fits with a view of human evolution in Asia as a network of populations that sometimes overlapped and interbred, rather than a set of clean, isolated branches.”

From the protein information, the researchers were also able to determine the sex of the fossils — five males and one female — by identifying a sex-specific marker in a tooth enamel gene on the Y chromosome.

Work published in 2020 retrieved proteins from an early Homo erectus fossil found in Dmanisi, Georgia, but, unlike the new study, Pop noted it didn’t reveal any detailed information about how the species sits in relation to other hominins.

The fossils came from three sites in central and northern China: Zhoukoudian, Hexian and Sunjiadong. The country has a long history of the discovery of Homo erectus fossils. In the 1920s and 1930s, hundreds of fossils were excavated from Zhoukoudian, including several skulls. The remains became known as Peking Man. However, the fossils, packed in two wooden crates, went missing during the chaos of World War II.

The tooth from Zhoukoudian used in this latest research was discovered during an excavation from 1949 to 1951, the study noted.

Homo erectus was the earliest human species to have body proportions similar to those of Homo sapiens. They had an upright stance, a large face with a protruding brow and no chin. Fossil evidence for Homo erectus stretches over more than 1.5 million years, far longer than the 400,000 years that Homo sapiens have been around, making the former species by far the longest surviving of all human relatives, according to London’s Natural History Museum.

The new study relied heavily on the hypothesis that Denisovans and Homo erectus interbred, but the Smithsonian’s McRae said an alternative explanation could be possible given that the Homo erectus fossils were 400,000 years old and the oldest known Denisovan fossil included in the study is the Dragon Man cranium, which is 150,000 to 300,000 years old.

“Even at the closest, there is still a 100,000-year gap between the two species, meaning that an ancestor-descendant relationship could be an alternative possibility,” he said via email, suggesting that Denisovans perhaps evolved directly from Homo erectus rather than coexisting.

“Transmission of the amino acid variant through interbreeding is certainly possible, I would even say plausible, but archaeological evidence could help confirm a closer connection between the two groups,” he added.

Fu agreed the information her team gleaned from tooth enamel was not detailed enough to understand how Homo erectus is related to other humans. Only DNA would really provide that granular information, she said. Fu described the study’s finding as a “stone thrown in a pool with a big splash,” opening up new questions for future research.

Translation

史前牙齒中的蛋白質揭示出石器時代早期人類物種之間有那樣的性接觸（2/2）

（繼續）

 “幽靈譜系”

荷蘭的萊頓自然生物多樣性中心的研究科學家Eduard Pop透過電子郵件表示，遺傳學家早就知道丹尼索瓦人擁有來自未知的「幽靈譜系」的祖先，該譜系沒有DNA比對吻合，而直立人是其中一個可能的吻合者。

目前正與研究人員合作，研究在印尼發現的直立人化石中是否保存了蛋白質資訊的Pop說:「這項研究加強了這種相信關聯存在」。

他說:「這表明，東亞與直立人相關的群體可能在基因上對丹尼索瓦人有所提供，並透過丹尼索瓦人間接地影響了一些現代人類」。

「因此，這與在亞洲，人類進化是一個群體網絡（這些群體有時會重疊並相互交配）的觀點相符，而不是一系列清晰、獨立的分支。”

研究人員利用蛋白質訊息，透過識別Y染色體上琺瑯質基因中的性別特異性標記，確定了化石的性別 - 五名男性和一名女性。

2020年發表的一項研究從格魯吉亞Dmanisi發現的一具早期直立人化石中提取了蛋白質。但Pop指出，與這項新研究不同之處是，該研究並未揭示該物種與其他原始人類物種之間關係的任何詳細信息。

這些化石來自中國中北部三個地點：週口店、河縣和孫家洞。中國有著悠久的直立人化石發現歷史。在1920年代和1930年代，周口店出土了數百件化石，其中包括幾個頭骨。這些遺骸被稱為北京猿人。然而，這些裝在兩個木箱裡的化石在二戰的混亂中遺失了。

研究報告指出，這項最新研究中使用的周口店牙齒是發現於1949年至1951年的一次考古發掘中。

直立人是最早擁有與智人相似體型比例的人類物種。他們直立行走，臉部較大，眉毛突出，沒有下巴。據倫敦自然歷史博物館稱，直立人的化石證據可以追溯到150多萬年前，遠遠長於智人存在的40萬年，這使得直立人成為迄今為止所有人類近親中存活時間最長的物種。

這項新研究主要依賴丹尼索瓦人和直立人雜交的假設，但Smithsonian博物館的McRae表示，考慮到直立人化石距今有40萬年，而研究中已知的最古老的丹尼索瓦人化石是距今15萬至30萬年的「龍人」頭骨，因此事情可以有另一種解釋。

他透過電子郵件表示:「即使是最接近的情况，這兩個物種之間仍然存在10萬年的差距，這意味著祖先-後代關係也可能是有另一種可能性」，並暗示丹尼索瓦人或許直接從直立人進化而來，而非與直立人共存。

他補充道:「透過雜交傳播氨基酸變異當然是可能的，我什至認為這種可能性很大，但考古證據或許有助於證實這兩個群體之間有更緊密的聯繫」。

Fu女士也認同，她的團隊從琺瑯質中提取的資訊不足以詳細了解直立人與其他人類的親緣關係。她說，只有DNA才能真正提供這種細緻的資訊。Fu女士將目前這項研究的發現比作“投入池塘的石子激起的巨浪” ，為未來的研究提出了新的問題。

So, a prehistoric human known as Homo erectus was the first of our forerunners to leave Africa and to roam the planet for almost 2 million years. But with scarce genetic material available to study, the species remains a major mystery in human origins. Now, scientists have evidence to indicate a molecular link between Homo erectus and later human species. Apparently, this revelation is not detailed enough to understand how Homo erectus is related to other humans. Yet, this new study’s finding has opened up new questions for future research.

史前牙齒中的蛋白質揭示出石器時代早期人類物種之間有那樣的性接觸（1/2）

 Recently CNN.com reported the following:

(Source: CNN)

What proteins in prehistoric teeth reveal about Stone Age sex between early human species (1/2)

CNN- By Katie Hunt

UPDATED MAY 14, 2026

A prehistoric human known as Homo erectus was the first of our forerunners to leave Africa, crossing continents and ultimately roaming the planet for almost 2 million years. But with scarce genetic material available to study, the species remains a major mystery in human origins.

Now, scientists have retrieved ancient proteins from six teeth unearthed in China that, for the first time, reveal a molecular link between Homo erectus and later human species, including our own: Homo sapiens.

“This is a major step forward in tying together the broken branches of our human evolutionary tree,” said Ryan McRae, a paleoanthropologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, who was not involved in the study. “Homo erectus has long been a bit of an enigma.”

Homo erectus remains have been found in Africa, Asia and Europe; however, obtaining informative molecular data such as DNA has proved challenging given the fossils’ age and poor preservation.

In a study published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature, Chinese geneticist Fu Qiaomei and her colleagues successfully extracted and analyzed ancient enamel proteins from the teeth unearthed at three sites in China. All the teeth date from around 400,000 years ago.

Proteins, which are made up of sequences of amino acids, are more robust than ancient DNA, a fragile molecule that degrades relatively easily. Proteins contain far less detailed information, but they can still shed some light on a specimen’s evolutionary history.

Fu, a professor at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, and her team used what they described as a new, less invasive technique to study fossils without damaging their morphology.

Rather than drilling, they used acid etching to remove a small sample of enamel from the teeth. The team did not try to recover DNA from the fossils after failing to extract DNA from animal fossils of the same age from the same sites. Fu said it was hard to get DNA, but she would never give up.

Unknown variant discovered

The researchers found that the specimens from the three sites in China shared two amino acid variants, one of which was previously unknown. This finding, the researchers reasoned, suggested the teeth all belonged to the same species.

The second variant had previously been identified in Denisovans, another shadowy species of ancient human, and also in some modern human populations.

That other human species shared this variant suggested that Denisovans had once interbred with Homo erectus, and then, at some later point, Denisovans mated with Homo sapiens, according to the study.

As a result, traces of Denisovan DNA live on in some humans today — something interbreeding geneticists call admixture.

Similarly, modern human populations have some Neanderthal ancestry — a legacy of past interactions with that species that went extinct about 40,000 years ago. Denisovans also interbred with Neanderthals.

Modern human populations in Southeast Asia have the highest Denisovan ancestry, suggesting the two groups once crossed paths there.

(to be continued)

Translation

史前牙齒中的蛋白質揭示出石器時代早期人類物種之間有那樣的性接觸（1/2）

一種名為直立人（Homo erectus）的史前人類，是我們祖先中第一個走出非洲。他們跨越各大洲，最終在地球上活動了將近二百萬年。然而，由於可供研究的遺傳物質極為稀少，這個物種仍是人類起源研究中的重大謎團。

如今，科學家從中國出土的六顆牙齒中提取出古老蛋白質，首次揭示了直立人與後來人類物種（包括我們智人 Homo sapiens）之間的分子聯繫。

位於美國華盛頓特區Smithsonian國家自然歷史博物館的古人類學家 Ryan McRae（沒有參與此研究）表示：「這是在串聯人類演化樹斷裂分支方面的一大進展」;「直立人長期以來一直有點神秘」。

直立人的遺骸已在非洲、亞洲與歐洲被發現；然而，由於化石年代久遠且保存狀況不佳，要取得具資訊價值的分子資料（例如 DNA）一直非常困難。

在週三發表於科學期刊《Nature》的一項研究中，中國遺傳學家Fu Qiaomei及其同事成功從中國三處遺址出土的牙齒中提取並分析古代琺瑯質蛋白。這些牙齒都可追溯至約四十萬年前。

蛋白質由胺基酸序列組成，相比古代 DNA 更為穩定；DNA 是一種脆弱的分子，容易隨時間降解。雖然蛋白質所含資訊遠少於 DNA，但仍能為標本的演化歷史提供一些線索。

Fu是中國科學院北京脊椎動物古生物與古人類研究所教授。她與團隊使用一種他們稱為「侵入性較低」的新技術，在不破壞化石的原有特性下進行研究。

研究人員與其鑽探，改為使用酸蝕法從牙齒琺瑯質中去除少量樣本。由於先前無法從同年代、同遺址的動物化石中提取 DNA，因此團隊並未嘗試從這些化石中回收 DNA。Fu表示，雖然取得 DNA 很困難，但她永遠不會放棄。

發現未知的變異體

研究人員發現，來自中國三處遺址的樣本共享兩種胺基酸變異體，其中一種變異體此前從未被發現。研究團隊因此推測，這些牙齒都屬於同一物種。

另一種變異體此前曾在丹尼索瓦人（Denisovans）- 另一種神秘古人類 - 以及部分現代人族群中被發現。

研究指出，其他人類物種也擁有這種變異體，顯示丹尼索瓦人曾與直立人發生過雜交，而之後丹尼索瓦人又與智人交配。

結果是，部分現代人至今仍保有丹尼索瓦人的 DNA 痕跡 - 遺傳學家將這種跨物種混合稱為「基因混合」（admixture）。

同樣地，現代人族群中也帶有部分尼安德塔人血統，這是與該物種過去互動的遺留痕跡；尼安德塔人大約在四萬年前滅絕。丹尼索瓦人也曾與尼安德塔人雜交。

現今東南亞的人類族群擁有最高比例的丹尼索瓦人血統，顯示這兩個族群過去可能曾在當地相遇。

（待續）

US Retail Sales Up 0.5% in April: Strong but Unsure in Maintaining Momentum

Recently NHK News on-line reported the following:

米 4月の小売売上高 前月比0.5％増 堅調も勢い維持は不透明

2026年5月15日1:02

アメリカ

アメリカの4月の小売業の売上高は、前の月と比べて0.5％増加しました。個人消費の堅調さを示した形ですが、イラン情勢を受けてガソリン価格などが上昇するなかで、今後も勢いを維持できるかは不透明となっています。

アメリカ商務省が14日に発表した先月の小売業の売上高は、およそ7571億ドル、日本円にして119兆6200億円あまりで、前の月から0.5％増加しました。

項目別に見ると、ガソリンスタンドが2.8％増加したほか、ネット販売が1.1％電子機器や家電の販売店が1.0％それぞれ増加しました。

一方、家具販売店は2.0％減少しました。

イラン情勢を受けて、アメリカではガソリンなどの価格が大きく上昇し、インフレの再加速への警戒感が高まってきています。

アメリカのメディア、ブルームバーグはトランプ政権の減税策や株価の上昇が、高まるインフレ圧力に対して「緩衝材」の役割を果たしたことを示唆していると分析した上で、それらが堅調な需要をどれだけの間、支えられるかは不透明だと指摘しています。

Translation

US Retail Sales Up 0.5% in April: Strong but Unsure in Maintaining Momentum

May 15, 2026, 1:02 AM

United States

Retail sales in the United States in April increased by 0.5% compared to the previous month. While this indicated strong consumer spending, the situation in Iran had led to rising gasoline prices and other items, making it uncertain whether this momentum could be maintained.

According to data released by the US Department of Commerce on the 14th, retail sales in April totaled approximately $757.1 billion, or over 119.62 trillion yen, a 0.5% increase from the previous month.

Breakdown by category, respectively gasoline station sales increased by 2.8%, online sales by 1.1%, and electronics and home appliance stores by 1.0%.

On the other hand, furniture sales decreased by 2.0%.

Because of the situation in Iran, gasoline and other prices in the United States had risen sharply, raising concerns about a renewed acceleration of inflation.

American media outlet Bloomberg analyzed that the Trump administration's tax cuts and rising stock prices had acted as a "buffer" against rising inflationary pressures, but also pointed out that it remained unclear how long they were able to support robust demand.

So, retail sales in the United States in April has increased by 0.5% compared to the previous month. This indicates strong consumer spendings, but it remains unclear how long the robust demand will last in view of the conflicts in Iran.

紐約男子被判犯有充當中國未註冊代理人罪

Recently The Guardian reported the following:

Lu Jianwang (Source: The Guardian)

New York man found guilty of acting as unregistered agent of China

Lu Jianwang was accused of operating a ‘secret police station’ in Manhattan’s Chinatown at the behest of Beijing

Guardian staff & agencies - Reuters contributed reporting

Wed 13 May 2026 19.58 EDT

A New York man was found guilty on Wednesday of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government after he was accused of operating a “secret police station” on behalf of Beijing in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Lu Jianwang, 64, should have alerted the US attorney general that he was a Chinese agent when he helped open the so-called police station in 2022. They also said he helped China’s government locate a pro-democracy activist living in California.

Lu was arrested in April 2023. He had pleaded not guilty to the three felony charges he faced: conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent, acting as an unregistered agent of China and obstruction of justice.

A jury in Brooklyn federal court reached the verdict after a weeklong trial. Lu faces up to 30 years in prison.

“May today’s verdict send a message to other foreign agents – the FBI maintains its unwavering resolve to reveal and disrupt the clandestine operations of adversarial nations,” said FBI assistant director in charge James Barnacle in an announcement of the verdict.

The justice department has in recent years been ramping up inquiries into what it calls “transnational repression” by US adversaries such as China and Iran to intimidate political opponents living in the United States.

China’s government has called the charges in the case “fabricated” and part of an effort to smear the country’s image. Beijing has said there are centers outside China run by local volunteers, not Chinese police officers, that aim to help Chinese citizens renew documents and offer other services.

In her opening statement on 6 May, prosecutor Lindsey Oken said Lu – a naturalized US citizen – had ties to Chinese law enforcement and met with officials who tasked him with opening the station during a trip to China in 2022.

Oken said Lu ran the station out of a nondescript office building in Chinatown. She said he started out by helping Chinese nationals living in New York with renewing driver’s licenses, which alone is a crime if not disclosed to the US government.

Oken said Lu also agreed to help the Chinese government locate a pro-democracy activist living in the United States. Prosecutors did not allege that the activist was harmed.

John Carman, a lawyer for Lu, said his client agreed to open the center to help Chinese nationals who were unable to travel to the country to renew documents due to the Covid pandemic. But Carman said Lu was not tasked with doing so by the Chinese government.

A co-defendant arrested alongside Lu, Chen Jinping, pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiring to act as an unregistered Chinese agent.

The arrests followed a 2022 investigation published by Spain-based advocacy group Safeguard Defenders that reported China had set up overseas “service stations”, including in New York, that illegally worked with Chinese police to pressure fugitives to return to China.

The verdict comes two days after the mayor of Arcadia, California, agreed to plead guilty to charges of acting as an illegal agent of China. Eileen Wang, who resigned her position as the plea deal was announced, had coordinated with China to post pro-China propaganda to a website billed as a news source for the area’s Chinese American community.

Translation

紐約男子被判犯有充當中國未註冊代理人罪

盧建旺被控受北京指使，在曼哈頓唐人街設立“秘密警察局”

一名紐約男子週三被判犯有充當中國政府未註冊代理人罪成，此前他被控代表北京在曼哈頓唐人街設立「秘密警察局」。

布魯克林聯邦檢察官表示，64歲的盧建旺在2022年協助開設該「警察局」時，本應向美國司法部長報告其中國代理人的身分。他們也表示，盧建旺曾協助中國政府找出一名居住在加州的支持民主活動人士。

盧某於2023年4月被捕。他否認了三項重罪指控：共謀充當未註冊外國代理人、充當中國未註冊代理人以及妨礙司法公正。

經過一週的審判，布魯克林聯邦法院陪審團做出裁決。盧某面臨最高30年的監禁。

負責的聯邦調查局助理局長James Barnacle在發佈判決結果時表示:「希望今天的判決能向其他外國代理人發出明確的信息 - 聯邦調查局將堅定不移地揭露並打擊敵對國家的秘密行動」。

近年來，美國司法部一直在加強調查其所謂的「跨國鎮壓」行動，這些行動涉及中國和伊朗等美國敵對國家，旨在恐嚇其居住在美國的政治反對派。

中國政府稱此案中的指控是“捏造的”，是抹黑中國形象的陰謀的一部分。北京方面表示，中國境外存在一些由當地義工而非中國警察去營運的中心，旨在幫助中國公民更新證件並提供其他服務。

5月6日，檢察官Lindsey Oken在開庭陳述中指出，盧某（已入籍美國）與中國執法部門有聯繫，並於2022年訪華期間與一些官員會面，後者指派他開設該中心。

Oken表示，盧某在唐人街一棟不起眼的辦公大樓內經營該中心。她說，盧某最初幫助居住在紐約的中國公民更新駕照，而僅此一項，若未向美國政府申報，就構成犯罪。

Oken表示，盧某也同意幫助中國政府尋找一名居住在美國的支持民主活動人士。檢控方並無指該活動人士受到傷害。

盧某的律師John Carman表示，他的當事人同意開設該中心，是為了幫助那些因新冠疫情而無法前往中國更新證件的中國公民。但 Carman表示，盧某並非受中國政府指派從事此類活動。

與盧某一同被捕的被告 Lu Chen Jinping 於2024年認罪，承認串謀充當未註冊的中國代理人。

這項逮捕行動源自於總部位於西班牙的維權組織「守護者」（Safeguard Defenders）於2022年發佈的一項調查報告。該報告指出，中國在包括紐約在內的海外地區設立了“服務站”，這些服務站與中國警方非法合作，向已逃離中國人仕施壓，迫使其返回中國。

在這判決結果出來前兩天，加州阿卡迪亞市長Eileen Wang同意承認充當中國非法代理人的指控。市長Eileen Wang在認罪協議公佈後辭職。她曾與中國方面協調，在一個標榜為當地華裔社區新聞來源的網站上發佈親華宣傳內容。

So, a man in New York was found guilty of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government after he was accused of operating a “secret police station” on behalf of Beijing in Manhattan. This verdict came two days after Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia in California, agreed to plead guilty to charges of acting as an illegal agent of China. Apparently, the US is getting serious about its national security.

In the AI Era, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Proposes Revising High School Japanese Language Subject Structure to Focus on Literature

Recently NHK News on-line reported the following:

AI時代に文学の学びを 高校国語の科目構成を見直す案 文科省

2026年5月12日6:59

文部科学省

文部科学省は、高校の国語の科目構成を大幅に見直し、文学作品を重点的に学ぶ科目などを新設する案を示しました。AIやSNSが普及する中、対話する力や人間の感性を育むのが狙いです。

小中学校や高校の教育目標と内容を定めた学習指導要領はおおむね10年ごとに改訂されていて、中教審＝中央教育審議会は教科ごとの専門部会に分かれて検討を進めています。

11日、国語の専門部会が開かれ、これまでの高校生の課題として理系の生徒を中心に文学の学びが不足する一方で、AIやSNSの普及で対話する力や人間の感性を育む必要があるとして、科目構成を大幅に見直す案が示されました。

具体的には高校2年生以降の選択科目の中に小説などの文学作品や古典を重点的に学び感性を育む「言語文化II（2）」や論説文や批評文の読解、それにディベート方法を学ぶ「現代の国語II（2）」などを新たに設けるとしています。

また、さらに学習を深めたい生徒向けの科目として、「論説と批評」や「対話と表現」「文学と叙述」、「古典と文化」の4つを新設するとしています。

中教審は、専門部会での議論をことしの夏ごろまでに終えて今年度中に答申し、高校では2032年度以降に実施される予定です。

Translation

In the AI Era, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Proposes Revising High School Japanese Language Subject Structure to Focus on Literature

May 12, 2026, 6:59 AM

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology had proposed a major revision of the high school Japanese language subject structure, including the creation of new subjects that focus on the study of literary works. The aim was to cultivate communication skills and human sensitivity amidst the spread of AI and social media.

The curriculum guidelines, which defined the educational goals and content for elementary, junior high, and high schools, were revised approximately every 10 years. The Central Council for Education (CEC) conducted these revisions through specialized subcommittees for individual subject.

On the 11th the Japanese language subcommittee had a meeting, noting to date a challenge for high school students was the lack of literature education, particularly among science students. It presented a proposal to significantly revise the subject structure. In light of the spread of AI and social media there was a need to cultivate communication skills and human sensitivity,

Specifically, the plan proposed adding new elective subjects for second-year high school students and above, such as "Language and Culture II (2)," which would focus on studying literary works like novels and classical literature so as to cultivate sensitivity, and "Modern Japanese Language II (2)," which would teach the reading of expository essays and critical essays, as well as debating methods.

Furthermore, for students who wished to deepen their learning, four new subjects would be created: " Expository Essays and Critical Essays," "Dialogue and Expression," "Literature and Narrative," and "Classical Literature and Culture."

The Central Council for Education planned to complete discussions in its expert subcommittees by this summer and submit its recommendations within this fiscal year, with implementation in high schools scheduled for 2032 and beyond.

So, amidst the spread of AI and social media, Japan has proposed a major revision of the high school Japanese language subject structure. Specifically, they propose to increase studying time on the learning of literary works like novels and classical literature so as to cultivate human sensitivity, and also to teach expository essays and critical essays, as well as debating skills. Apparently, AI is affecting students’ face to face communication skills, among other things.