By Mike Dolan

LONDON (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today

By Mike Dolan, Editor-At-Large, Financial Industry and Financial Markets

Bond markets creaked again after the hammer came down on a lukewarm sale of 20-year U.S. Treasuries on Wednesday with President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill clearing a crucial hurdle overnight.

In today's column, I discuss how a long-standing trend of U.S. corporations acting as cash-rich net lenders might reverse due to increased investment in AI and re-industrialisation efforts, potentially creating new competition for funds with ever-expanding U.S. government borrowing.

But now onto all the market news.

Today's Market Minute

* U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill cleared a crucial hurdle on Thursday, as the House of Representatives voted roughly along party lines to begin a debate that would lead to a vote on passage later in the morning.

* Foreign investors could once barely imagine that China would invade neighbouring Taiwan, but with Donald Trump as president of the United States, many view it as a tail-risk scenario they must prepare for, although they cannot find ways to do so.

* Stocks and the U.S. dollar fell on Thursday, while longer-dated Treasury yields steadied near their highest in 18 months as worries of a worsening fiscal outlook in the world's biggest economy remained at the top of investors' minds.

* Bitcoin rose to its highest level on record on Wednesday, eclipsing the previous high from January, as risk sentiment continues to improve after last month's tariff-induced selloff.

* Oil prices fell more than 1% on Thursday following a report that OPEC+ is discussing a production increase for July, stoking concerns any potential increase in global supply would exceed demand growth.

* Solar farms are set for a record stretch of power sector dominance in Germany after becoming the single largest generation source in the country at the earliest point of the year ever.

Hammer comes down

Markets fear the bill will bake in elevated deficits and rising debt piles over the remainder of the administration's term at least. The proposed legislation lifts the $36.2 trillion debt mountain by another $3.8 trillion over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Lawmakers were due to vote again to pass the measure later today and send it on to the Republican-led Senate, which could take weeks to act. And it was not yet clear whether House Speaker Mike Johnson would secure the necessary support from his own narrow 220-212 seat Republican majority.