UK bond vigilantes ride again
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 13 May 2026
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
UK gilt investors are weighing in on who they would like to see replace Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and the fund raising for Blue Owl is running dry. Plus, the US economy is hurting due to high inflation and eBay says no thanks to GameStop’s takeover bid.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Who do gilt investors want to lead Britain?
UK borrowing costs surge as Starmer leadership crisis rattles bond
Fuel, munitions and food: Trump’s Iran war rips across US economy
US inflation jumps to 3.8% as Trump’s Iran war sends petrol prices soaring
Blue Owl retail fundraising evaporates amid private credit concerns
Ebay rejects $56bn GameStop bid as ‘neither credible nor attractive’
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Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted and edited by Marc Filippino, and produced by Katya Kumkova, Saffeya Ahmed, and Sonja Hutson. Our show was mixed by Sam Giovinco. Additional help from Michael Lello. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s Global Head of Audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning from the Financial Times. |
| 0:04.4 | Today is Wednesday, May 13th. |
| 0:06.2 | And this is your FT News briefing. |
| 0:09.0 | UK guilt investors don't get to choose the country's next prime minister, but they are certainly |
| 0:13.8 | making their voices heard. |
| 0:15.7 | And some new numbers show just how tough things are for Blue Owl right now. |
| 0:20.4 | Plus US inflation, woof. |
| 0:23.1 | So far, since the Iran war began, households had spent about $37.9 billion extra on gas as a result of the conflict. |
| 0:35.7 | I'm Mark Filipino, and here's the news you need to start your day. |
| 0:49.0 | UK bond traders are not happy with the country's political situation right now. |
| 0:53.6 | There's mounting pressure |
| 0:54.5 | on Prime Minister Kier-Starmor to step down, and guilt investors are worried about who |
| 0:59.4 | would replace him. So-called bond vigilantes are sending that signal through a sizable debt |
| 1:04.6 | sell-off. 30-year guilts hit their highest level since 1998 this week. Here to discuss what exactly guilt investors want or don't want is FT Senior Markets correspondent |
| 1:15.7 | Ian Smith. |
| 1:16.6 | Hi, Ian. |
| 1:17.4 | Hey, Mark. |
| 1:18.4 | Ian, let's talk about this idea of the bond market communicating through sell-offs, |
| 1:22.9 | this idea of bond vigilantes. |
| 1:24.8 | We've seen this in the past with former Prime Minister Liz Trust in |
| 1:28.5 | 2022 when the bond market went through a massive sell-off and forced her to resign. What is their deal? |
| 1:35.3 | So this idea of bond vigilantes really describes the pressure that the bond market can put on a |
... |
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