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[Bloomberg]( Legislative stalemate on Biden agenda, Afghanistan retreat, and China tech rebound. Stalemate Talks between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a group of Democratic lawmakers failed to break the stalemate over [how to progress President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda](. Discussions are [set to resume today](, with moderates wanting to ensure passage of the infrastructure bill, while progressives want to tie it into the [larger stimulus package](. For Pelosi, the stakes are high as she cannot afford to lose much support from either faction due to her party’s small majority in the chamber. Afghanistan While President Biden’s domestic agenda is getting bogged down, his foreign policy remains in crisis mode. The focus remains getting people out of Afghanistan, with [about 16,000 people]( evacuated yesterday. There is little sign of the situation [improving on the ground](. Allies trying to convince the U.S. to [extend the withdrawal date beyond Aug. 31]( see little chance of getting Biden to change his mind. Vice President Kamala Harris is in Asia trying to [reassure nations]( in the region of continued U.S. support. China tech  Chinese technology shares have had a difficult few weeks as authorities have had the sector [firmly in their sights](. That selloff has abruptly reversed, with the Hang Seng Tech Index [advancing 7% overnight]( as strong corporate results drew investors such as Cathie Wood back into the market. MSCI Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Henry Fernandez said that compliance weighs on China every few years causing markets to [drop and then recover](. He sees the same thing happening this time, and strongly disagrees with the idea that the country’s stocks are [uninvestable](. Markets rise The rally in Chinese tech shares is helping lift the region’s stocks on what is a relatively quiet day for market news. Overnight the MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 1.6% while Japan’s Topix index closed 1% higher. In Europe the Stoxx 600 Index turned slightly lower at 5:50 a.m. after spending much of the session in the green. S&P 500 futures [pointed to a small rise at the open](, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.26%, oil [held above $66 a barrel]( and gold slipped. Coming up... The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for August is at 10:00 a.m. New home sales numbers for July are also at that time. The U.S. sells $60 billion 2-year notes at 1:00 p.m. Best Buy Co Inc., Toll Brothers Inc., Nordstrom Inc. and Urban Outfitters Inc. are among the companies reporting results. The Paralympic Games begin in Tokyo. What we've been reading Here's what caught our eye over the last 24 hours. - [Hedge funds are hot again](. Good luck finding one that’ll take your money. - El Salvador [readies Bitcoin rollout]( with 200 ATMs for conversion. - Xi’s data clampdown [spurs novel solution]( from Tim Hortons China. - Climate change made [Germany’s deadly floods]( much more likely. - Visa buys [a digital avatar]( for $150,000. - Maersk makes $1.4 billion green bet on [methanol-powered ships](. - Volcanos [acted as a safety valve]( for Earth’s long-term climate. And finally, here’s what Justina’s interested in this morning I’ve already written yesterday about how the stock market seems to be in a holding pattern, unsure of just how much to worry about the Delta variant. It feels a little like this in bonds too. Jackson Hole is coming up, but with Treasury yields falling back again recently, there doesn’t seem to be much fear of taper signaling. At the same time, Fed officials have also indicated that a rate hike will be a separate question, which has probably helped the market digest expectations of a slowdown in asset purchases. Another question to think about in bonds is the U.S. debt ceiling. The Treasury cash balance has[shrunk]( to $310 billion, the lowest since before the pandemic, partly because of the upcoming borrowing cap, which has prompted the government to cut bill issuance and draw down its cash pile. This has put downward pressure on short-term rates, at times even sending rates for repo and T-bills into negative territory. The debt ceiling is a familiar exercise for anyone who’s covered markets long enough, and no one really expects the U.S. government to default. It’s the same at the Treasury Department, which has announced its borrowing plans based on the expectation the ceiling will be suspended or raised. It’s indicated it sees a cash balance of around $750 billion at end-September. Man Group last week [wrote]( that because this implies the Treasury will be issuing more than spending, it’s effectively a form of quantitative tightening. This could prompt investors to start cutting their rates positions eventually, though there’s usually a six-week lag between changes in the Treasury cash pile and the impact on longer-dated bond yields. For a while it was popular to wonder if Treasuries were rallying on macro or technical factors. It looks like there will soon be plenty of action on both fronts. Follow Bloomberg's Justina Lee on Twitter at [@justinaknope]( Like Bloomberg's Five Things? [Subscribe for unlimited access]( to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. 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