Yellen Gets Wall Street Buzzing About 50-Year U.S. Treasuries

All it took was a non-committal comment from Janet Yellen to persuade Treasury traders there’s a chance the U.S. will finally expand maturities in the world’s biggest bond market beyond 30 years.

The Treasury Department has pondered ultra-long bonds for years, but they’ve never been introduced in part because of resistance from Wall Street. But Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for Treasury secretary, got people buzzing about them again by discussing the topic Tuesday during her Senate confirmation hearing. Markets responded, with traders selling 30-year bonds.

“There is an advantage to funding the debt, especially when interest rates are ...