Investors are selling off bonds from the U.S. government, as part of a trade known as “Sell America.”

The United States government has had to pay more to borrow in the global debt markets. On Wednesday, the Treasury department found that there was tepid demand for an auction for $20 billion worth of bonds, and ended up paying a slightly higher interest rate (or yield) than expected.

This has spooked markets. Yields on 30-year U.S. Treasuries have spiked above 5% this week — an unusual, and unsettling, surge in the price that the U.S. government pays on its long-term debt. An increase in bond yields is particularly damaging to the economy because it jacks up the interest rates on many things that consumers pay, such as on mortgages and other loans.

  • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    20·
    2 days ago

    If this ends up in the Balkanization of the US, it’s gonna be the blue coastal and some Midwest states that are actually economically productive (perhaps as some sort of related-but-technically-separate merged regional unions), and then the south + flyover states descending into 3rd world status.

    And like… I’m kinda over giving a shit about confeds. Have the day you voted for.

    Edit: geoeconomic idea for Canadia: invest more in US>CA>US transit routes. Make a great-circle-pathed rail line from near Seattle to VT/NH/Maine, with a spur down towards Buffalo too, perhaps.

    • it’s shorter than the Cartesian “line”
    • defense-in-depth is very viable for the mid-country areas, if our government decides to try to grab some Lebensraum
    • can continue to support, trade, and interact with less dumb parts of the country, or whatever independent union states they become in the apres-Balkanization phase
    • Wahots@pawb.social
      122·
      2 days ago

      Problem is, the US only really works when every state is in sync. Economies of scale and all that. Stuff will be a lot more expensive if you are just buying for the west coast and Colorado. and you’ll have people from fucked up states trying to move to good states, bringing their terrible ideas.

      • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        12·
        2 days ago

        And then the non-shit states will have ✨ immigration and customs ✨ for all the white supremacists and y’all qaeda types.

        All I mean is that there is a LOT of stuff in the “Find Out” chapter of this book if all these chucklefucks insist on exploring the story in its entirety.

    • Match!!@pawb.socialEnglish
      61·
      2 days ago

      what do you wanna name the West Coast bloc when the us collapses? I’m partial to 2Pacistan

    • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.clubEnglish
      42·
      2 days ago

      I can see Texas being relatively well off. Quality of life for the poor is going to drop, but the state has a relatively diversified economy.

      • GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca
        4·
        2 days ago

        But they already have 3rd world status outcomes for maternal mortality, so don’t expect it will get better for the middle class. But I’m sure the rich will get richer!

        • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.clubEnglish
          42·
          2 days ago

          I’m not expecting it to get better for the middle class. However, Texas has enough resource extraction and high value manufacturing where the state probably could weather independence.