89. Replay: The Fed Talks, the Market Decides—How Rates Really Get Set

If you have debt or you have money, you’re impacted by the credit market, whether you realize it or not. It’s the largest market in the world, and it impacts everything from your mortgage and auto loan to the savings account you earn interest on. Understanding how it works can help you make smarter decisions about when to refinance, borrow, or invest.

Think the Fed controls your mortgage or car loan rate? Not exactly. In this replay, we unpack the real power player...the credit market. From the shape of the yield curve to trillions in government debt rolling over this July, the market ultimately calls the shots.

Your mortgage rate? It’s tied to the 10-year Treasury yield. Credit card and car loan rates? They follow the curve, too. We break down how the yield curve, built on U.S. government debt, sets the tone for borrowing and saving across the economy. While the Fed influences short-term rates, the market takes over from there, pricing long-term risk, setting interest rates, and moving your money.

So why does the government care? Because they’re rolling over a mountain of debt in July, and every tick higher on the 10-year makes that debt more expensive. Even top investors like Scott Bessent, a former Soros Fund CIO, are sounding the alarm on the U.S. government’s growing interest bill, keeping all eyes on the 10-year Treasury.

There’s never been a better time to understand how the credit market really works.