After Davos, bond markets are wielding a new big stick

COMMENTARY / World

After Davos, bond markets are wielding a new big stick

Europe’s growing awareness of how to use Treasuries should give the U.S. pause

U.S.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brushed off fears of Europeans weaponizing bond sales at Davos, but his response hinted at unease over America’s reliance on foreign capital. | REUTERS

By John Authers
Bloomberg

Jan 27, 2026

Amid last week’s frantic transatlantic diplomacy, politicians felt possibly the most intense pressure from the bond market.

This is nothing new. U.S. President Donald Trump delayed his Liberation Day tariffs because it was “yippy.” James Carville, Bill Clinton’s political Svengali, famously said he wanted to be reincarnated to embody it because “you can intimidate everybody.”

Many now agree with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s assertion at Davos that the postwar international rules-based order has suffered a “rupture,” not a transition. But the power of the trade in debt securities appears eternal.