A nickname for the critics

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent labelled the traders and analysts doubting him "Bloomberg Terminal Bros" on the podcast War Room, and said their unhappiness was their problem.

“If some of the Bloomberg Terminal bros are unhappy with what I'm doing, well, that's too bad”

Yields went the wrong way

The comments landed a day after the ten-year Treasury yield hit 4.83%, its highest since October 2023. By Friday afternoon it was at 4.94%.

A $5.2 billion buyback

Treasury started buying longer-term bonds to push yields back down, spending $5.2 billion against a self-imposed $6 billion cap. The sell-off barely paused.

Why yields matter to you

Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions, so rising yields mean traders want more to hold US debt. That feeds into credit cards, auto loans and mortgages.

Three forces pushing yields up

Analysts point to inflation from the Iran War, the corporate borrowing rush funding the AI buildout, and a national debt pile that keeps growing.

His case: supply shock

Bessent says demand is fine, citing two strong recent auctions, and frames the pressure as temporary. Treasuries are still the asset investors run to in a crisis.

“We have a supply shock, and we will get to the other side of this”

I am the house now

The former hedge fund manager, famous for his 1992 bet against the Bank of England's defence of the pound, now describes his position with a casino metaphor.

“I have asymmetric information. I am the house now.”

The tiny stick problem

Stanford's Ryan Cummings notes the terminal bros are the ones selling. Paul Krugman says Bessent is waving a "tiny, tiny stick" and burning credibility. Bessent calls it noise.

“All he's doing is further draining his rapidly diminishing reserves of credibility”