The Treasury secretary is projecting confidence while struggling to get borrowing costs down.
The political strategist James Carville once joked that if he ended up being reincarnated, he’d like to come back as the bond market. “You can intimidate everybody,” he said.
Not Scott Bessent. About a month ago, during a talk at Southern Methodist University, the Treasury secretary issued a challenge—both to the business-school students in the audience and to the traders of the world. “I have asymmetric information. I am the house now,” he said. “You can bet against me if you want.” The line was an attempt to explain the government’s decision to boost the Japanese yen over the summer, but it was also a broader statement about his ability to influence markets and guard against financial downturns.
