STOCKS END MIXED AFTER LISTLESS DAY ON WALL STREET — AP’s Damian J. Troise and Stan Choe: “A listless day on Wall Street ended with indexes mixed on Wednesday, as nervousness continues to wash out of the market following last week’s jolt by the Federal Reserve. … “The majority of stocks in the S&P 500 fell, but gains for financial companies and others that do best when the economy is healthy helped limit the losses. Markets have calmed notably since the Federal Reserve surprised investors last week by saying it could start raising short-term interest rates by late 2023, earlier than expected.” BIDEN’S ECONOMIC AGENDA FACES FAMILIAR HURDLE WITH FIGHT OVER FINANCING — NYT’s Jim Tankersley and Emily Cochrane: “Biden’s ambitions for a large-scale investment in the nation’s aging public works system along with other parts of his economic agenda hinge on what has always been the most difficult problem for lawmakers: agreeing on how to pay for the spending. “That question has sent a group of centrist senators scrounging to find creative ways to cover nearly $600 billion in new spending that they want to include as part of a potential compromise plan to invest in roads, broadband internet, electric utilities and other federal infrastructure projects.” YELLEN: U.S. COULD BREACH DEBT LIMIT DEADLINE IN AUGUST — WSJ’s Kate Davidson: “The U.S. could run out of room to keep paying the government’s bills some time during Congress’s August recess unless lawmakers raise or suspend the federal borrowing limit before then, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said “Congress in 2019 suspended the borrowing limit, or debt ceiling, through July 31, 2021. After that, the Treasury Department won’t be able to raise additional cash through the sale of government securities and would need to deploy emergency measures to keep paying the government’s obligations, as it has in the past.” She also said inflation should be lower than current levels by the end of the year — Reuters: “U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that inflation should retreat by year end from its current elevated level as supply bottlenecks get worked out, adding she sees little evidence inflation expectations are becoming unanchored. “Yellen, testifying at a Senate subcommittee on the Biden administration's budget proposal, said the economy has been on a ‘bumpy path’ during its reopening after months of restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19. Asked by Republican Senator John Kennedy if she thought inflation would keep increasing at the 5 percent year-over-year rate seen last month, Yellen said she thought it would be closer to 2 percent by late this year or early 2022.” FED OFFICIALS SAY ‘TEMPORARY’ INFLATION SURGE COULD LAST A WHILE LONGER — Reuters’ Howard Schneider: “A period of high inflation in the United States may last longer than anticipated, two U.S. Federal Reserve officials said on Wednesday, prompting one to pull forward his views on when the central bank should start raising interest rates. “Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said with growth surging to an estimated 7 percent this year and inflation well above the Fed's 2 percent target, he now expects interest rates will need to rise in late 2022. … Both Bostic and Fed Governor Michelle Bowman on Wednesday said that while they largely agree recent price increases will prove temporary, they also feel it may take longer than anticipated for them to fade.” FED’S BOSTIC: BOND BUYING DRAWDOWN NEAR — WSJ’s Michael S. Derby: “Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said Wednesday he has moved forward his expectations for a central bank rate rise to next year and that the time is coming soon for the Fed to pare its bond buying stimulus efforts. "‘Given the upside surprises and recent data points, I’ve pulled forward my projection for our first move to late 2022,’ Mr. Bostic said in a call with reporters. Mr. Bostic said he also expects two additional increases in the federal-funds rate in 2023.” KAPLAN SEES HIKE IN 2022, BUT TAPER STARTING SOONER — Bloomberg’s Catarina Saraiva: “The U.S. economy will likely meet the Federal Reserve’s threshold for tapering its asset purchases sooner than people think, said Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, who has penciled in an interest-rate increase next year. “‘As we make substantial further progress, which I think will happen sooner than people expect — sooner rather than later — and we’re weathering the pandemic, I think we’d be far better off, from a risk-management point of view, beginning to adjust these purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities,’ Kaplan said Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg News.” | 
