NEW YORK (AP) — The bond market is one of the few forces in the world strong enough to get politicians to snap to attention. It also helps dictate how much ordinary people have to pay on their mortgages and car loans, as well as how much they earn from their savings accounts and 401 (k) plans.

Trump was asked by a reporter whether he had directed Bessent to intervene in the bond market and what other options were on the table. The post Trump Suggests He Can Use the Military on Bond Markets: ‘If We Have To Use That,

Many people don't pay attention to bond markets, but they should — especially now. This is why they matter and why the drop in bond prices is signaling investor concerns about the U.S. economy.

The action by Secretary Scott Bessent comes amid a selloff of longer-term U.S. government debt.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s plan to calm markets is being short-circuited.

U.S. stocks are rising Friday and trimming their losses from what’s been a shaky week. The bond market, which has been the center of Wall Street’s action, remains jumpy, but yields are not moving as much as earlier in the week and are helping to keep financial markets relatively calm.

Nearing the six-month mark of the Iran war and facing diminishing stockpiles of key weapons, the Trump administration is touting a crushing financial campaign against a country that has so far withstood nearly five decades of punishing American sanctions. Read more.

B OND MARKETS are unsettled, and so, in turn, is America’s government. On August 19th the Treasury said that from next month it would increase its own purchases of longer-dated debt. This reflects “increasing administration unease” about yields, believe analysts at Deutsche Bank.

Part of the problem is the size of the national debt, which on Tuesday hit a new high of $40 trillion. The Trump administration not only has not put forward a plan for reducing borrowing, it has pushed through major economic policies that have helped make the situation worse.