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Bonds

Yesterday

President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff moves have led to wild swings in US government debt over the past week by undermining confidence in the US economy and the direction of the US policy.

US Treasuries slide with worst sell-off since 2019

Volatility continued to lash assets in the US markets with bonds extending a slide that could be the biggest in more than five years.

This Month

The sell-off we had to have is only part-way done

In an environment when the market could drop 5 per cent on any given day and throw off opportunities, investors have to go back to basics.

The gold price is soaring as uncertainty reigns.

Bond markets left reeling as epic week scars traders

The wild swings across bond markets this week were reminiscent of the biggest crises in modern history. Battered traders are now moving to more reliable havens.

The bond market teaches Trump the art of the squeal

The US president is not easily humbled, but he’s learnt to respect a bond market that has grown far more powerful and consequential than ever.

President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listen. (Pool via AP)

A ‘classic emerging market crisis’ as investors flee US assets

The usual flight to safety toward long-term US government bonds occurred at first but has since very much reversed. The reversal shows no signs of slowing.

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Equities roared back to life on Thursday following Donald Trump’s tariff backdown.

Buckle up for next 90-days as tariff talks play out

Sentiment turned on a dime on Thursday as investors piled back into equities. We spoke to one of the country’s top wealth investor shops to find out why.

Donald Trump stunned investors with a reversal in his trade policies.

Calm descends on bond markets, but tariff war will push yields higher

Bond yields dropped after Trump stunned the market by pausing most of his reciprocal tariffs, but analysts warn that US Treasuries face higher borrowing costs still.

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ASX gains $112b; Why Trump backed down; Did he manipulate market?

Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.

Bond markets smacked Trump’s tariff plan. He had to back down

Markets are recovering, but the scars from Trump’s tariff saga will run deep.

Pundits say there are some circuit breakers that could help calm the market turmoil.

Five circuit breaks that can stop the market turmoil

Trade negotiations, central bank action and government stimulus are among the options being discussed by economists and strategists that would restore calm to financial markets.

A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Anxiety about the inflationary impact of tariffs are threatening to spike bond rates.

Bond rout shakes investors as world’s safe haven loses its appeal

The turmoil in US government bonds overshadowed deep losses on the sharemarket, as traders were left wondering if this was “the end of exorbitant privilege”.

The day a market rout turned into something scarier for investors

What looked like a standard and orderly sell-off – overpriced equity markets reacting to an economic growth shock or the prospect of a US recession – is starting to look leaky.

Some exposure to bonds may be protecting your super from the worst of the share market falls.

This will cushion your super balance during the Trump slump

Bonds typically act as a counterbalance to equities, providing ballast during share market corrections. But this time around there’s a wrinkle in the system.

Chinese President Xi Jinping.

$A tipped to keep tumbling as superpowers ‘collide’

The Australian dollar hit a fresh five-year low below US60¢ and traders ramped up bets the RBA will slash the cash rate next month as fears of a global recession grow.

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ASX wipes $32b; Tariffs to hit pharma; $1.3trn trade unwinds

Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.

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Were US President Donald Trump to kill the tariffs, why should businesses and consumers believe they’ll stay dead?

Why we shouldn’t rule out an economic doomsday

Policymakers should be war gaming the worst scenario because never before has a single signature by a single individual raised the probability of recession so sharply.

Senior trade adviser Peter Navarro at the tariff announcement ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.

Markets have seen through Peter Navarro’s ‘tissue of lies’

The evidence against Donald Trump’s tariff adviser, and his “poorly designed and reckless” tariff hikes, is overwhelming.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says a 5 per cent bond rate is uncomfortable.

‘It’s tell your grandchildren I was there’ day as $1.3trn trade unwinds

We might be able to suck up a cratering sharemarket as part of shake-out of financial excess. But the excesses in the bond market may be even more painful.

Trade tariffs typically push up inflation. But markets are expecting rates to be cut as global growth slows.

Traders eye up to five RBA rate cuts amid market turmoil

The Aussie tumbled below US60¢, its lowest level since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, as the bond market ramped up expectations of bigger interest rate moves.

Mineral Resources shares have have lost one-third of their value since last week.

MinRes debt anxiety grows as lithium miners walloped by tariff fears

The company’s debt is trading at an increasing discount as investors fret about billions of dollars in loans far higher than its market capitalisation.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/bond-market-5v3