Bessent Signals Treasury Buybacks Could Exceed $4 Billion -- WSJ

By Joe Wallace and Sam Goldfarb

The effects of Scott Bessent's intervention in bond markets are proving short-lived: Yields are on the rise again.

The Treasury secretary's move to ratchet up bond repurchases had temporarily cooled yields, which have been pushed higher by swelling fiscal deficits and rampant borrowing by tech companies. But with no sign the U.S. will rein in its $40 trillion debt, a sustained drop in borrowing costs looks unlikely. Analysts at ING likened the move to "rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic."

Appearing on CNBC a day after the Treasury announced its new plan, Bessent emphasized that upcoming buybacks of longer-term bonds could be more than $4 billion per operation. Bessent said the government has "a big toolkit" to bring down yields, which he said don't currently reflect economic fundamentals.

U.S. stocks are in the red after weak earnings reports from Walmart and Alibaba. The Dow is down about 500 points, around 1%. Crypto stocks are bucking the trend, boosted by Bessent's move and President's Trump backing of industry-friendly legislation.

Oil prices continue to advance. Brent crude futures are trading at around $93 a barrel after Trump vowed to inflict maximum economic pain on Iran, without specifying how.

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August 20, 2026 14:04 ET (18:04 GMT)