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The Intelligence from The Economist

Slip the surly bonds? Scott Bessent goes on a yield trip

August 26, 2026

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5 min read

Slip the surly bonds? Scott Bessent goes on a yield trip

Last week, America's 10-year Treasury bonds hit their highest yield since January 2025, while 30-year bonds reached levels not seen since 2007. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent responded by announcing that the Treasury would buy back Treasury bonds—a move one Economist correspondent describes as "a little like a shop owner buying her own stock to bump up the sales numbers." The intervention was small, symbolic, and puzzling, especially coming from a former hedge fund manager who made his career betting against governments that tried exactly this kind of thing.

Why yields are climbing

Government borrowing costs have been rising across most of the rich world for some time, but recent weeks pushed them to or beyond levels last seen during the 2008 financial crisis. The biggest driver, according to capital markets correspondent Josh Roberts, is the sheer volume of American borrowing. This fiscal year, the U.S. government is set to borrow more than $2 trillion. That alone would push yields higher, but other forces are compounding the pressure.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (01:45) **Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's Bond Market Intervention** - The US Treasury Secretary announces a plan to buy back long-term Treasury bonds, puzzling the bond market as yields hit multi-year highs.
  • 2 (03:20) **Why Yields Are So High** - Josh Roberts, Capital Markets correspondent, explains the multiple causes behind rising government borrowing costs.
  • 3 (04:52) **The Mystery of Bessent's Small Intervention** - Roberts explains why the Treasury Secretary's move is both tiny and symbolically significant.
  • 4 (05:45) **Bessent's Hypocrisy and Historical Context** - The intervention is ironic given Bessent's past career betting against government market meddling.
  • 5 (07:09) **What Bessent's Move Signals** - The puzzling intervention suggests Bessent may lack other tools or is playing politics.
  • 6 (08:50) **The Politicization of Key Institutions** - The Treasury and Fed are being pulled in opposite directions, creating tension.
  • 7 (12:04) **Hackers Attack American Water Facilities** - Shoshong Joshi reports that hackers have breached water facilities in at least seven states, with Iran believed responsible.

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Show Notes

Amid record-tickling yields, the bond markets are now trying to make sense of what Scott Bessent, America’s Treasury secretary, has announced—a move that might put him on a collision course with the Federal Reserve. We ask why it is so easy for hackers to infiltrate America’s water infrastructure. And understanding a political lineage through the new British prime minister’s accent.


Guests and host:

  • Joshua Roberts, capital markets correspondent
  • Shashank Joshi, Washington bureau chief
  • Lane Greene, language correspondent
  • Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”


Topics covered: 

  • bond markets, Treasury, yields, Scott Bessent
  • America, cyber-attacks, water, critical infrastructure
  • British politics, Andy Burnham, accents, class angst


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