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Bessent Plays Hardball With "Bloomberg Bros": Yields Spike As Treasury Accepts Just 68% Of Maximum Buyback Offers

Two weeks ago, treasury yields spiked to a 3 year high (still well below 5%), after the first expanded Treasury buyuback operation which had a maximum capacity of $6 billion, resulted in just $5.187 billion in actual buyback offers accepted by the Treasury.

That was a problem because as BofA's rates guru, Mark Cabana, wrote just ahead of the first buyback (his note is available to pro subs), over the last several operations the 10y-20y buybacks had received $18.7 billion of offers on average, or about 9 times oversubscribed (at the old maximum par amount permissable of $2 billion), and Treasury has always bought the maximum. 

“A purchase below the max would be unprecedented for the 10y-20y bucket," he wrote.

In the end, the repurchase was some 14% below the max, and that spooked markets because it indicated that dealers were hoping Scott "the  house" Bessent was desperate enough he would accept even lowball bids. In the end, he didn't even though a handful of lowball offers were indeed accepted.

So fast forward to today when moments ago the Treasury conducted the first expanded "liquidity support" buyback operation targeting 20-30 year nominal coupons, with the same maximum size of $6 billion.

Surely today bid/ask would be much closer and the Treasury would accept all of the cusips eligible for buybacks... otherwise why even bother expanding the buyback operation.

Well... wrong again, because moments after 2pm we got the results from today's expanded buyback op, and they were even worse than the first one: with $6 billion maximum par amount to be redeemed again, the Treasury received offers for $10.489 billion - identical to the Sept 11 operation - but accepted just $4.078 billion, which is only 68% of the $6 billion cap, down notably from 86% the first time around, which was already a big drop from the 100% it had accepted virtually every time prior!

Why not accept the full $6 billion, again? Well, it appears that "The House" is refusing to play ball with - or pay - the Bloomberg Bros, and the Treasury kicked out virtually all lowball offers today.

Using the same method as the Sept 10 exhibit, none of today's accepted bonds count as lowball offers, compared to 5 two weeks ago. The rule was 0.5bp or more cheap to a curve fitted through all the accepted yields. Today, every one of the 12 accepted issues came within ±0.6bp of that curve (and just two were a near miss)

In other words, the Treasury decided that just $4.1 billion of the $10 billion were fair, and it turned down about $6.4bn of low ball offers rather than pay up. It also accepted only 12 of 35 eligible issues. The two largest purchases were $1.5bn each of the 3.000% 02/2048 and the 1.875% 11/2051, and both came in right on the curve (−0.1bp and +0.1bp).

Other things to know:

• Accepted prices imply yields of 5.54–5.56% for bonds maturing 2047–2051. That's about 40–45bp over the 10Y at 5.10–5.16%, which looks sensible for this part of the curve.
• The long end yields less. The 4.625% 02/2055 prices at 5.48%, about 7bp through the 2051s, so yields fall at the very long end. Only $1mm of it was accepted, so it doesn't change the result.

And while we commend Bessent's resolve not be bullied around by the Bloomberg bros, the fact that for the second consecutive "expanded" buyback operation, the Treasury accepted well below the minimum, meant that there was far less "liquidity support" than intended, and sure enough yields spiked to a new multi-decade high.

This is turning into quite an interest drama, and many are curious who will win: will Bessent keep turning down lowball offers even if it means a continued meltup in yields, or will he finally cave and accept a few lowball offers allowing a handful of dealers to make a few million extra, if it means not risking the collapse of the bond market. We look forward to the next expanded buyback in two weeks to see which way this clash resolves... 

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/24/2026 - 14:36

A strike on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region killed six agricultural workers and wounded 12 others, Interior Minister Ihor Vyhivskyi said.

Greenland Mining Company Plans To Double Size Of Rare-Earth Mine As US Signs Agreement

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

Days after President Donald Trump announced a security agreement with Greenland and Denmark, Greenland Mines applied on Sept. 21 to double the size of its rare earth mine to supply magnet metals needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and defense systems on the island.

The North Carolina-based company's Sarfartoq rare earth district in southwest Greenland would expand from 74 square miles to about 175 square miles if approved.

"This application is about building Sarfartoq at district scale," said Bo Moller Stensgaard, president of Greenland Mines in a statement.

Greenland Mines is developing a rare earth neodymium and praseodymium project that could reduce the Western Hemisphere's dependence on China for the magnet rare earth minerals. China-based processors control at least 75 percent of the global market for all rare earth elements.

The Greenland Mines project is expected to produce about one-third of the world's neodymium-praseodymium oxide refined outside of China, serving as a key source of the rare earth ingredients needed for energy, transportation, and defense technologies.

China's export restrictions on rare earths have driven prices up in the past year. The Trump administration has focused on supporting and investing in domestic rare earth operations, but a supply of ore is still needed, according to Greenland Mines.

With the signing of the security agreement, Trump said no U.S. adversary could "make sensitive investments [in Greenland] without our express written approval."

"Greenland hosts some of the largest known undeveloped rare earth deposits in the Western world, and a framework that screens adversary capital out of the island makes those deposits more clearly available to allied supply chains," the company stated Tuesday.

Greenland Mines' project includes an open pit and underground mining operation at the site. Initial assessment of the materials at the mine estimate the value at about $2.05 billion, according to the company.

The project would produce rare earth elements used in high-performance permanent magnets.

Critical metals stocks surged Monday on news of the deal, and Greenland-linked market shares rallied when the markets opened.

Greenland Energy, a privately owned Texas company, has an agreement to drill on the Jameson oil and gas project in the Jameson Land Basin on the eastern coast of Greenland. The company, founded in 2025, began shipping drilling equipment to Greenland in late July.

Greenland Mines’ expanding Sarfartoq rare earth district in southwest Greenland. The existing exploration license, outlined in yellow, hosts the Sarfartoq Carbonatite Complex, the ST1 neodymium-praseodymium deposit and several known but less-developed rare earth zones. The new eastern exploration license application is shown in red. Greenland Mines LTD

Critical Metals Corp. is developing the Tanbreez Rare Earth Project in southern Greenland - one of the world's largest deposits with a high concentration of heavy rare-earth elements.

The company's Romanian refinery is also expected to process about 28,000 tons per year of rare earth and critical metal products, including 26,000 tons of high-purity silicon dioxide powder, or silica, used in food, pharmaceuticals, paints, plastics, rubber, ceramics, tech, and electronics.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/24/2026 - 14:20

Page Six exclusively revealed that Milania had enrolled in anger management classes following her domestic violence arrest in May.

Page Six exclusively revealed that Milania had enrolled in anger management classes following her domestic violence arrest in May.

Well, shucks.

Australia, which has strict social media restrictions and has proposed controls on algorithms and smart glasses, announced the breach at the UN.

Reuters reported this year that as many as 30,000 non-citizens have been erroneously added to voter rolls since 2000.

After his elimination from "The Challenge," Underwood told Page Six why there's "a whole new perspective" to "Survivor: Edge of Extinction" seven years later.

There's some bad chi in the trees.

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Both actresses have appeared in several seasons of the beloved spooky franchise.

Both actresses have appeared in several seasons of the beloved spooky franchise.

'Palestinian Rachel Dolezal': Philadelphia Activist Admits She Lied About Being Palestinian And Black

A Philadelphia activist spent years building a public persona around identities she apparently didn’t have, proving once again that even people obsessed with policing everyone else’s identity occasionally forget to check their own paperwork.

Hannah Gann, a teacher and prominent local anti-Israel activist, admitted this week that she is a white woman who had falsely portrayed herself as having Palestinian, Tunisian and Black heritage, according to the NY Post.

The confession came after fellow activists grew suspicious and confronted her. Gann acknowledged on Instagram - still public and looking like a treasure trove of social justice campaigns and advice on how to handle Covid - that she had been lying for years and described herself as a woman of considerable wealth and privilege. 

That was quite a departure from the identity she had cultivated publicly.

Gann had been presented as Palestinian American at activist events, talked about supposed relatives in Palestine and became active in Philadelphia’s pro-Palestinian movement.

The Post writes that former acquaintances remembered someone different. A University of Pennsylvania classmate told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Gann had previously been known as a white Jewish woman. The classmate alleged that after returning from Peace Corps service in Rwanda, Gann began darkening her appearance with makeup and adopting African American Vernacular English.

Members of the Racial Justice Organizing Committee and Philly Educators for Palestine eventually confronted Gann about inconsistencies in her story. The groups said she admitted the deception and later described themselves as stunned and angered by it.

There was apparently a financial angle, too. According to reporting cited by the New York Post, Gann solicited money while claiming financial hardship partly because she was helping relatives in Palestine.

Her actual upbringing appears considerably more comfortable. Her father is a tax attorney who previously worked for the Treasury Department, and the family lived in a Falls Church, Virginia home reportedly worth about $1.8 million.

Gann was also a vocal presence at anti-Israel demonstrations and had attracted attention from antisemitism watchdog groups over statements at protests and online. At one demonstration outside a Jewish bakery following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, she spoke in support of Palestinian resistance and urged demonstrators to take their movement into the streets.

In her confession, Gann acknowledged the fiction extended to friends, colleagues and even her own family, saying omissions and half truths eventually developed into outright lies.

Which is an impressive amount of commitment to the bit, even by modern activist standards.

The episode has inevitably drawn comparisons with Rachel Dolezal, the former NAACP official revealed in 2015 to be white after presenting herself as Black for years, earning Gann the nickname the “Palestinian Rachel Dolezal.”

Gann teaches at the Workshop School in the Philadelphia School District. The district said it was aware of the controversy and was providing support to students and staff. Whether Gann will face disciplinary action remains unclear.

One commenter on her Instagram wrote: "This is really horrible . We just talked in early september and ya told me your family is palestinian and have suffered so much from this genocide. Im sad for my daughter who admired you deeply, the palestinian community directly impacted by this and the young people who looked up to you."

Another quipped: "Omg we got Palestinian Rachel Dolezal before GTA6."

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ON US.$10 off one order of $30 or more. New or returning, one per person. YOUR EMAILGET MY $10 →Signs you up for ZeroHedge Store emails. $30 minimum, once per person, can't be combined. Every order helps support ZeroHedge. Tyler Durden Thu, 09/24/2026 - 14:00

We tried it — here's the 411.

The New Jersey Devils are a hard team to project for the 2026-27 season.

Joel Rene Cardenas Carrillo, a 46-year-old US citizen from Visalia, traveled to the Mexican state of Colima in July to visit his father.

Former “American Idol” star Caleb Flynn’s mistress sobbed in court Wednesday as she read a text message she sent saying she wanted to kill his wife, according to footage.

Influencer Jake Shane and actor Lewis Pullman, who has been dating Kaia for almost two years, hung up "Lost Cat" posters in her Hollywood Hills neighborhood.

Influencer Jake Shane and actor Lewis Pullman, who has been dating Kaia for almost two years, hung up "Lost Cat" posters in her Hollywood Hills neighborhood.