U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent renewed his warning to traders betting against the yen, saying coordination with Japanese authorities gives him an information advantage. Speaking at Southern Methodist University, he said, "I am the house now," referred to "asymmetric information" and invited investors to take the other side of the trade. The comments followed a late-July U.S.-Japan yen-buying operation described as the first U.S. intervention to purchase yen since 1998. Japan spent a record $96.4 billion supporting its currency after dollar-yen approached 164, and the pair later fell to around 153, representing roughly a 7% gain for the yen. The yen subsequently traded near 153 per dollar, its strongest level since February and a 6.5% gain since early August. The stronger yen has increased pressure on yen-funded carry trades, with short yen positions above 5 trillion yen in early September. Analysts warned that further appreciation could accelerate deleveraging, while the Bank of Japan was expected to raise rates by 0.25 percentage point at a September meeting. Risk selling linked to reports of a U.S. strike on Iranian oil tankers also pressured markets: Bitcoin failed to reclaim $80,000 and fell about 0.4%, while WTI rose above $96 a barrel and Brent above $101. Treasury separately outlined $5 billion to $6 billion of longer-dated bond repurchases. The buybacks, along with possible further yen intervention, added to market focus on U.S. policy and financial conditions.