The Long Bond Is Close to Meaningless

The handwringing over 30-year government bonds has reached epic levels. After all, the rise in yields to near a two-decade high of 5% on the longest-maturity debt offered by the US Treasury must mean… something? Pushback against excessive budget deficits? Debt that has now reached 100% of gross domestic product? Out-of-control inflation?

Those issues are certainly worthy of worry, but it’s best to look in other corners of the debt markets for evidence that the “bond vigilantes” are on the move.