Druckenmiller criticizes Bessent bond buyback strategy as not firepower
Stanley Druckenmiller, citing The Wall Street Journal, said governments defending bond prices against fundamentals always lose, while ABN Amro and Barclays questioned the credibility and affordability of US Treasury bond buybacks.
The chorus of voices criticizing US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s bond buyback strategy grew Tuesday, with the harshest rebuke yet coming from a former mentor. “ Governments defending prices against fundamentals always lose,” investor Stanley Druckenmiller argued — with the help of AI — in The Wall Street Journal. “The only variable is how much they spend before conceding.” Bessent has indicated the operations will continue, but they “lack the credible promise of overwhelming financial firepower,” ABN Amro’s chief economist wrote, though even Federal Reserve action would fail to address the US’ abysmal fiscal situation. “Bonds are cheaper than they have been in years” amid roaring AI capex, perilously high debt-to-GDP ratios, and stubborn inflation, Barclays analysts noted. “They are still not cheap enough.”