A Treasury showdown with the bond market

财政部与债券市场的对决

The Indicator from Planet Money

2026-09-01

9 分钟
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Why is the U.S. Treasury planning to buyback at least double the number of long-dated government bonds it usually does? And will Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s buyback plan pit him against both the bond markets and the Federal Reserve? Today we explain what the Treasury’s up to and what it means for you.  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez. Your Next Listen —Bond vigilantes. Who they are, what they want, and how you'll know they're comingConnect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter! — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
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  • NPR.

  • Treasury Secretary Scott Besant is taking a bit of a licking in the financial press right now.

  • A billionaire investor who used to work with him wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal warning

  • that Besant was trying to buy his way out of a difficult conversation.

  • Yeah, and executives at different investment firms have described Besant's strategy as self-limiting,

  • self-defeating, even financial repression.

  • So why are these guys picking on Scott Besant?

  • Well, starting next week, the Treasury plans to start buying back a lot more U.S.

  • Government bonds than it usually does, at least double.

  • And judging by the reaction, not only do investors dislike this idea,

  • they might not even believe the Secretary's rationale for doing it.

  • This is The Indicator for Planet Money.

  • I'm Adrian Ma.

  • And I'm Waylon Wong.

  • Today on the show, we will unpack this whole mess to explain what the Treasury Department is trying to do,

  • why it may be headed for a three-way standoff with both bond markets and the Federal Reserve,

  • and what this means for everyday borrowers.

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