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Founder/CEO of Pacemaker and former Central Banker (US Fed) and coinventor of Triparty repo

Kathleen Tyson

Economic stagnation, political polarisation, and growing geopolitical competition have fuelled claims that the West is entering an era of irreversible decline. The old transatlantic alliance is fraying as the US continues to take unilateral action, while Europe adopts a language of greater autonomy. But are these signs of terminal decay, or simply the growing pains of a changing global order?

Is the West in terminal decline?

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wants lower interest rates, but the bond market has so far refused to cooperate. This talk explores the growing tension between Washington’s fiscal ambitions and the investors who ultimately determine the cost of U.S. borrowing. Can Bessent beat the bond markets, or will rising yields, mounting debt and inflation force a reckoning? And, if he loses, what does that mean for the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency?