Bond sales, buy-backs and a queue of tariffs

The debt question, asked twice

City A.M. reported this morning that economists are urging the Bank of England to halt its bond sales, with climbing borrowing costs given as the reason. The call concerns the Bank's own disposals rather than its policy rate.

Across the Atlantic the same subject arrived in a different register. The Guardian asked whether the Trump Treasury is panicking over the level of US debt. CNBC reported that Stanley Druckenmiller leads a group of doubters who think Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's bond ploys will fail. The South China Morning Post's read on the Treasury's bond buy-back was that it reinforces the gold debasement trade, with the Jackson Hole meeting looming over the week.

Gold itself moved both ways inside twenty-four hours. On Tuesday morning This is Money had the metal rising and bitcoin at a three-month high, framing both as investors backing away from US assets. By the small hours of Wednesday the Wall Street Journal reported gold slipping as markets waited for the Fed chairman's comments at Jackson Hole.

The Journal also ran a piece asking whether inflation-fighting bonds are on sale — the question posed of Treasury inflation-protected securities rather than answered on the reader's behalf. Nearer home, the state pension was the subject of a warning to Healey, reported by City A.M., that the bill will pile pain on the next generation of taxpayers. And in Jersey, official figures showed earnings up 1.2% after inflation.

Canada answers, and shares rise anyway

Mark Carney announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on hundreds of US imports, covering some $20bn of goods, in a step reported by the Guardian, Euronews and Sky News as an escalation of the trade war. Canada's measures span a wide range of American products.

Equity markets spent Tuesday looking elsewhere. The Journal's live coverage had stocks advancing and oil dropping as investors pinned hopes on diplomacy, and its close-of-day report attributed the rise in US shares to retreating oil and inflation fears. This is Money, meanwhile, reported Bessent launching what it called an economic onslaught on Iran.

In London the FTSE 100 crept closer to its record high, which City A.M. put down to investors dodging the turmoil in artificial intelligence shares. Tokyo did not join in: the Nikkei fell 0.4%, dragged by chip-related stocks, according to the Journal.

Single names supplied the rest of the London tape. Housebuilder shares soared on Andy Burnham's council housing plans. The UK government took a stake in a miner after a £71m injection. GSK shares drifted despite a boost from drug approvals. A top FTSE headhunter fell into administration and was rescued by a rival.

Canada's banks reported through the tariff news. Bank of Montreal said it plans to buy back shares after a strong quarter, with earnings hit by a charge. Scotiabank's results were lifted by a record showing in wealth management. In Hong Kong, WuXi Biologics posted a 4.3% rise in first-half profit, described by the South China Morning Post as defying biotech headwinds.

A lengthening queue at the door

The IPO pipeline is filling. The Journal reported that Oura and Dunkin' are eyeing offerings as Wall Street's listing boom builds. City A.M., on the same day, published a piece arguing investors should not rush to buy the next blockbuster debut.

In China, DeepSeek is nearing a pre-IPO funding round, with sources telling the South China Morning Post that a 2027 market debut is taking shape. The scale of the ambitions being sold to private investors was set out by the Journal, which reported Anthropic is expected to tell backers it sees over $30 trillion in potential revenue.

London's small-cap market has its own scheme. City A.M. asked whether the Capital Access Window can finally revive AIM.

Two stories sat awkwardly beside the enthusiasm. Regulators are probing the near-collapse of the hedge fund Situational Awareness, the Journal reported. And S&P warned that heatwave health risks threaten insurer earnings in Europe, according to the Guardian.

At the retail end, James Watt launched a hangover drink and offered the first 20,000 customers a stake in it, as reported by This is Money. Elsewhere in the day's odder corners: a group of Bayern Munich old boys took over a Portuguese top-flight club, and the Guardian filmed an inquiry into who really profits when sardines go viral.