Scott Bessent Fails to Calm Bond Market & This Chinese Movie is So Bad, It’s Good

August 21, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Scott Bessent’s Bond Market Intervention Fails, Walmart Warns on Consumer Spending, and a Terrible Chinese Animated Movie Becomes a Hit

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried something unusual this week: he ramped up Treasury buybacks of longer-dated government debt in an explicit bid to lower bond yields. It worked for exactly one day. Yields fell Wednesday in response to the intervention, then bounced back Thursday to roughly where they started, leaving analysts comparing the move to “throwing a paper towel into a tsunami.”

The bond market’s tantrum stems from multiple pressures: rising U.S. deficits, stubborn inflation, and a flood of corporate debt issuance from companies like Google and Meta that now compete with Treasuries for investor dollars. When yields rise, borrowing costs go up for both the government and regular Americans — exactly what Bessent, a former hedge fund manager who calls himself the nation’s top bond salesman, wants to avoid. His buyback plan was meant to influence supply and demand in the $28 trillion Treasury market, but critics say it’s too small to address the fundamental fiscal concerns driving yields higher.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:29) **Show Open & Birthday Banter** - Neil and Toby welcome back Toby from his honeymoon and celebrate Neil's birthday.
2 (02:50) **Bond Market Tantrum & Bessent's Failed Intervention** - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's unusual move to buy back long-term debt fails to calm rising bond yields.
3 (05:30) **The Fed vs. Treasury Subplot** - A fascinating clash is unfolding between Treasury Secretary Bessent and new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh over interest rate policy.
4 (07:10) **Bessent's Interventionist Style & Election-Year Motives** - Bessent's aggressive bond market tactics are seen as a short-term play ahead of the midterm elections, with long-term risks.
5 (08:40) **Walmart's Rough Week: Consumer Caution & Tariff Refund** - Walmart shares fell nearly 10% after reporting its slowest sales growth since the pandemic, signaling a cautious American consumer.
6 (11:10) **Retail Earnings Roundup: Consumers Are Cautious, Not Broke** - A look at earnings from Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, and TJ Maxx shows a mixed bag where consumers are psychologically cautious.
7 (12:05) **Stock of the Week: New Lie** - A Chinese animated movie so bad it's become a box office sensation, going toe-to-toe with major blockbusters.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Scott Bessent Kevin Warsh

Show Notes

#916: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tries to intervene to ease the bond market…except it doesn’t work. Walmart posts its slowest gains in years as Americans watch their budgets. A Chinese animated film is so bad, it’s so good. Nike shares hit their lowest in 12 years. The FDA calls for a blueberry recall over deadly E. coli fears. Finally, the Army uses GTA 6 to reenlist soldiers.

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