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Trump gets hit with his fourth criminal indictment, Yellen is feeling very good about the US economy and Buffett is betting on the American [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Trump gets hit with his fourth criminal indictment, Yellen is feeling very good about the US economy and Buffett is betting on the American housing market. — [Sofia Horta e Costa]( Trump’s indictment Donald Trump and some of his top administration officials and associates [were indicted in Atlanta]( over efforts to overturn to results of his 2020 defeat in Georgia to President Joe Biden. The criminal case, the fourth against the former president, charges Trump and 18 defendants with racketeering and other alleged crimes including false statements and writings, conspiracy to commit forgery, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer and filing false documents. Racketeering is the central count and carries a minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison. The new indictment will compound the demands on Trump’s schedule as he campaigns. Trials are already scheduled for next year in separate hush-money and classified documents cases. Yellen’s optimism Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen [called China’s economic weakness]( a “risk factor” for the US, but one that doesn’t significantly dent her optimism for the American economy. Her comments came just before data that showed China’s recovery from the pandemic is [sputtering]( even faster than thought. Speaking to reporters in Las Vegas, Yellen said she feels “very good about US prospects overall,” describing growth as healthy and the job market as strong amid a downward inflation trend. Asked why polls showed most Americans didn’t feel the economy was doing well, Yellen responded by saying their view was much more positive when they’re asked how they are doing personally. Buffett’s bets Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway [reported new holdings]( in homebuilders D.R. Horton, NVR and Lennar, whose shares are all up more than 30% this year. The largest US developers are benefitting from a resilient demand for new homes driven buy severe shortage of supply in existing homes. Berkshire also slashed its stake in Activision Blizzard Inc. by 70%, exited its position in insurance broker Marsh McLennan, and trimmed positions in other companies including Chevron in the three-month period that ended in June. Berkshire was a net seller of equities in the period, divesting almost $8 billion more of shares than it bought. Separately, Bank of America’s latest global fund manager survey showed investors have trimmed their underweight on stocks to the smallest since April 2022. Markets fall Stocks and bonds are declining amid nerves over China’s faltering economy and debt problems. US futures point to a lower open, the dollar is little changed, while Treasury 10-year yields are extended their climb to exceed 4.21% for the first time since November. The pound is up after strong UK wage data. Coming up… Data on US retail sales and empire manufacturing are due at 8:30 a.m., while business inventories and cross-border investment will be released later in the day. Argentina will release its July inflation numbers a day after the government devalued the currency and the central bank lifted interest rates to 118%. Fed Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari is due to speak. Mortgage rates in the US have increased for three consecutive weeks and 10-year real yields are near the highest level since 2009. Will borrowing costs remain high for years to come? Have central banks conquered inflation? Share your thoughts in the latest [MLIV Pulse survey](. What we’ve been reading This is what’s caught our eye over the past 24 hours. - Japan’s economy is the [biggest]( it has ever been. - Russia’s central bank [lifts interest rates](after its currency crashed. - UK base wages are rising at a [record pace](. - Tesla is [cutting prices]( again in China. - [Markets question]( Hawaiian Electric’s future. - Hollywood studios say they won’t replace[every screenwriterÂ](with AI. - Michael Burry has ditched [two big investments]( in Chinese tech stocks. - Michael Oher, the NFL star depicted in the movie Blind Side, says the [whole story]( was a lie. And finally, here's what Joe’s interested in this morning… We got another slew of poor Chinese economic data last night. Industrial production, retail sales, fixed asset investment, property Investment and the surveyed jobless rate all came in worse than expectations. Alongside the bad data, [the People's Bank of China made a surprise cut]( to interest rates, its second easing since June. Brad Setser [has a good thread on the data here](, and says it's pretty clear that the country is now in a recession, at least by Chinese standards. Meanwhile, an advisor to the central bank, Cai Fang, says the government [ought to be providing]( direct support for households in order to boost consumption. In fact, [if you look at his article posted on social media](, it specifically talks about using the framework of a Balance Sheet Recession ("资产负债表衰退"). This is of course the term that Richard Koo of the Nomura Research Institute famously coined to describe Japan's slump, [and in a recent episode of the Odd Lots podcast](, he used that term to characterize the situation that China is facing right now. In fact he said that the concept -- which describes an economy in which excessive debt overhang encourages ongoing deleveraging, rendering rate cuts effective -- has been gaining traction in Chinese circles generally. So it's interesting to see a PBOC advisor specifically use the term, calling for more household support, as the economy continues to sputter. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things to Start Your Day: Americas Edition newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](