Treasury Department announces even bigger bond buyback; market shrugs

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That seems to be the mantra over at the U.S. Treasury Department. Last Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the department plans to triple its long-term bond buyback program to $6 billion during its operation the following day. Last month, Bessent signaled that the Treasury would increase its bond market intervention. Initially, he said the plan was to “at least” double operations from $2 billion to $4 billion beginning in September. Yields initially fell but quickly recovered. Not content to be outdone by the markets, Bessent doubled down again, raising the...