Terry
Private Fund Portfolio Manager & Trader
Long-dated government bond yields are surging worldwide at once, a sign something is wrong. UK 30-year yields hit 5.88%, the highest since 1998, the US 30-year topped 5%, Japan's 10-year reached 2.95%, and German and French long yields hit 2011 and 2008 highs. The roots are dangerous government debt levels, European and UK central bank balance-sheet shrinkage, and tech giants issuing 20-40-year bonds that draw pension and insurer demand away from government debt. x.comÂ
Long-dated Treasuries are under pressure because US debt, over $40T, is too large and keeps being rolled over with new borrowing. The 30-year yield jumped back to 5.26% and the 10-year to 4.7%, erasing gains from Treasury Secretary Bessent's interventions within a day. Capital is fleeing to hard assets: gold rose 12.5% in a month, silver 21%, and bitcoin topped $72,000. Walmart's near-10% drop shows weak US consumers, leaving the Fed trapped between weak demand and oil-driven inflation. x.comÂ
Long-dated US Treasury yields face structural upward pressure until deficits fall, and neither party shows the will to cut them. US deficits of 6% are the highest ever outside a major war, and debt above $40 trillion against $33 trillion of GDP could be the breaking point. Japan's 10-year yield near 3%, the highest since 1996, gives it reason to sell some of its $1 trillion of Treasuries, and the UK, holding $0.9 trillion, has 10-year yields at 5.1%. Fed action may only briefly slow the rise. … Show more
Inflation has broken long-dated US Treasuries' safe-haven role. Long-term Treasuries have returned -4.1% annually in the 2020s to date, versus +4.9% in the 1930s. Long bonds look unlikely to do well for at least the rest of this decade. x.com x.com x.com x.comÂ
Long-dated Treasuries are the safe-haven trade again as money rotates into yield. With the 30-year paying over 5%, holding non-yielding assets is harder to justify; after the Fed held, yields fell across the curve and TLT rose 1%. x.comÂ
Long-dated US Treasuries face pressure because the market will buy US debt only at 5%-plus yields, with no short-term fix in sight. The 10-year yield keeps climbing parabolically as Washington issues enormous debt to fund deficits, investors demand more compensation for inflation and duration risk, the Fed is now raising rates, and Treasuries must compete harder for global capital. The government seems reluctant to act, while rising oil prices add to inflation pressure. x.comÂ
Long-dated Treasury yields are anchored by fiscal policy, not the Fed, so without a credible budget plan bond buyers keep pushing them higher. Moving holdings to the short end turns Treasuries into quasi-money T-bills, which adds to inflation and lifts the whole curve. Ray Dalio says Japan selling US bonds, long-end yields at new highs with a weaker dollar, and Scott Bessent's limited buyback plan fit his template for how countries go broke. x.com x.com x.com x.comÂ
Falling Treasury yields reinforce the growth-scare thesis and mark a bullish turn for long-dated Treasuries. The 10-year yield is breaking below 5% as TLT rallies. x.comÂ
Long-dated Treasury yields need to stay high because megacap tech companies now compete for bond buyers. Oracle bonds yield over 8%, Meta's over 7%, and Google sold a 10x-oversubscribed 100-year sterling bond above 6%, while hyperscaler issuance is surging from $35B toward $200B. Megacaps are becoming as creditworthy as governments, making this a new paradigm of persistent competition, and Warsh appears to agree hyperscaler debt plays a role. x.com x.com x.com x.com x.com x.com x.com x.comÂ
Long-dated Treasury yields have further to rise, because the government keeps announcing more long bonds, not fewer, even as demand for 30-year bonds at 5% is weak. 5% is not where it stops. x.comÂ
Long-dated Treasuries are attractive at about a 5.2% yield, which looks like what it takes to draw domestic buyers to replace foreign demand. @acemoney21 argues the supply-demand imbalance is real as China and the EU leave Treasury auctions, so Americans must be incentivized with 5% risk-free yields, and that curve steepening is part of the administration's plan. Locking in about 5% on part of a portfolio for the next 20 years is appealing. x.com x.comÂ
Long-dated Treasury yields face more upward pressure than in the 1990s, a common comparison. Then, yields were high but falling from the early-1980s Volcker peak, and the US was the sole superpower. Now yields are turning up from their 2020 low, while the Iran war has driven oil-led inflation and exposed weaker US military dominance, denting confidence in Treasuries. Foreigners bought over $940 billion of US stocks in a year while selling Treasuries. Pressure persists until macro tensions ease. … Show more
