The Guardian dates the gilt record to 1998. The Irish Times dates it to 2008. Both carry both bonds.

One market, two records. Both cover the gilt sell-off of Tuesday 1 September. Each makes a different bond the record.

Reported by	The record it names	Yield	Dated to	Its other maturity
The Guardian	30-year gilt	5.89%	early 1998 — 28 years	10-year at 5.25%
The Irish Times	10-year gilt	5.23%	2008 — the financial crisis	30-year at 5.9%, "since the late 1990s"

Both carry both maturities. Neither headline says which bond it means. The Guardian's standfirst says 5.88% where its own text says 5.89%.

The cause moves too. The Guardian blames "global factors" and traders it does not name, then puts US-Iran tensions in Wednesday's headline. The Irish Times adds new Fed chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole tone. So does the day: deepened on Tuesday to one, resumed on Wednesday to the other.

Japan: one figure, two records. Both put the 10-year at 3%. The Japan Times calls it a 30-year high; The Irish Times, the highest since 1996.

Our two readings split. One took the 5.25 against 5.23 on the 10-year as the discrepancy; the other only the 30-year's 5.88 against 5.89.

Not settled. Which bond "UK borrowing costs" means. Whether September's Japanese rate rise is Washington's doing or Governor Ueda's. And who pays: none of the eight reports quotes a mortgage holder, renter or borrower; the only loss with a figure is a bank's $400m.

What this is about. Governments borrow by selling bonds. In early September 2026, investors sold enough of them to push the interest rates Britain and Japan pay to their highest in decades.

How it got here - A bond's yield is, in effect, the interest rate a government pays to borrow. When investors sell bonds, prices fall and yields rise. UK government bonds are called gilts. - After the 2008 financial crisis, central banks cut interest rates close to zero and bought government bonds in bulk. For more than a decade, governments could borrow cheaply. The Bank of Japan went furthest: it held its rate below zero from 2016 until 2024. - Inflation came back after the pandemic and after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Central banks raised rates, and yields rose with them. In September 2022, Liz Truss's government announced a mini-budget that set off a gilt sell-off, and the Bank of England had to step in. - This year, The Irish Times reports, fighting flared again in the Middle East and pushed up energy prices. Investors began betting that central banks would raise rates again. The paper also reports that Kevin Warsh, the new chair of the US Federal Reserve, struck a hawkish tone at Jackson Hole in late August, meaning he leaned towards higher rates.

Who is involved - Central banks (the Fed, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan) set short-term rates to control inflation. Markets set the yields on longer bonds. - Governments pay those yields on new borrowing. The Irish Times reports that the UK, under prime minister Andy Burnham, has a budget due in October. It also reports that Japan, under prime minister Sanae Takaichi, faces questions over how it will pay for a large stimulus plan. - Washington wants a stronger yen. The US Treasury says Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Governor Kazuo Ueda to take "decisive" monetary steps.

What is at stake. When yields rise, a government spends more on interest, and that leaves less for other spending or means higher taxes. In Britain, gilt yields feed into what lenders charge for fixed-rate mortgages. Banks that hold older bonds lose money as prices fall.

Where it stands. The Bank of Japan met on 17–18 September and was widely expected to raise rates. We do not hold a report of what it decided.

The story so far

Axios says China derailed the G20 statement. France 24 says the G20 backed it. Same document. · 6 Sep 2026

Earlier stories The AI Times filed on this thread.

What is being argued about

Which maturity a headline should mean by "UK borrowing costs" — the 30-year, 28 years from its last peak, or the 10-year, 18.
Whether the trigger was oil and the Middle East alone, or also the new Fed chair's Jackson Hole speech.
Whether the Bank of Japan's expected 17-18 September rise is Washington's doing or Ueda's own risk management.
Who pays for it: not one report here reaches a household.

One Tuesday's gilt market, two recordsSide by side

Reported by	The bond it makes the record	Yield it gives	How old it says the record is	What it does with the other maturity
The Guardian, Tue 1 Sep	30-year gilt	5.89% in the text, 5.88% in the standfirst	since early 1998 — 28 years	10-year given at 5.25%, with no record date
The Irish Times, Tue 1 Sep	10-year gilt	5.23 per cent	since 2008 — the global financial crisis	30-year touching 5.9 per cent, "the first time since the late 1990s"

Both reports carry both maturities. The difference is which one each makes the record.

Sources

The Guardian T The Irish Times

Claims and verdicts

misleading UK long-term borrowing costs hit a 28-year high.

The Guardian's 28-year record is the 30-year gilt at 5.89%, its highest since early 1998; the Irish Times' "highest level since 2008" is the 10-year gilt at 5.23 per cent, and the same report puts the 30-year at 5.9 per cent, "the first time since the late 1990s". Both outlets agree on both maturities and the records are 18 and 28 years old respectively — neither headline says which bond it is describing.

Checked against 2 sources:

The Guardian T The Irish Times

unverified The sell-off was driven by US-Iran tensions pushing up oil prices and inflation fears.

The Guardian attributes the move to traders fretting about oil and inflation and, the next day, to US-Iran tensions in its headline; the Irish Times gives the Middle East flare-up alongside new Fed chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole tone, Brent at $92.69 and eurozone inflation of 3.3 per cent. No report we hold tests any of these attributions, and the only market voice quoted is Craig Inches of Royal London Asset Management, who calls it "a doom loop".

Checked against 3 sources:

The Guardian

The Guardian T The Irish Times

disputed US pressure from Scott Bessent is driving the Bank of Japan towards a rate rise this month.

The Japan Times, citing the Treasury, says Bessent "voiced strong support for 'decisive' monetary steps" in his meeting with Governor Ueda, "cementing the case" for a hike on 17-18 September, while Ueda gave a reason of his own — the board must "pay greater attention than before to upside risks". The Irish Times says that "even before Bessent's remarks" the market had already priced a high likelihood of a 0.25-point rise to 1.25 per cent at that meeting.

Checked against 4 sources:

The Japan Times

The Japan Times T The Irish Times

The Japan Times

Who wrote it

H Heather Stewart The Guardian · 2 reports on this story

What the bias passes found in their reporting

Evaluative phrase, no actor named borrowing is called out-of-control and no government is named as the borrower×1

Hedged causation the Yemen link is doubly softened — concerns, and could×1

Measure chosen bond plan sized as one total, not an annual pace×1

Which figure is used Makes the 30-year yield the record and dates it to 1998; its own standfirst says 5.88% where the body says 5.89%.×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

1 misleading1 disputed2 unverified3 true

From 69 reports we hold under this byline, at The Guardian. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

E Emily Herbert The Irish Times

What the bias passes found in their reporting

How hard the claim is stated Calls a tax cut controversial and asserts the fiscal cause of the sell-off flat, where another report attributes that same cause to a named economist as an estimate.×1

Which figure is used Makes the 10-year yield the record and dates it to the 2008 crisis, the same market another report dates to 1998, and gives a different figure for that 10-year yield.×1

Which figure is used the record is the 10-year gilt and dated to the financial crisis; the older 30-year high is a subordinate clause×1

Who is named as acting a named central banker's speech is put among the causes×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

1 misleading1 disputed1 unverified

From 2 reports we hold under this byline, at The Irish Times. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

K Kazuaki Nagata The Japan Times

No independent reading has coded a report under this byline yet. We do not infer a journalist's views from the outlet that employs them.

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

1 disputed

From 2 reports we hold under this byline, at The Japan Times. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

T Taiga Uranaka The Japan Times

What the bias passes found in their reporting

How the victims appear the loss that gets a figure belongs to a bank×1

How the victims appear The only person named as losing money runs a bank, and he is interviewed at length; no borrower or saver is quoted in any report.×1

From 1 report we hold under this byline, at The Japan Times. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

The bylines on the reports this story is built from. Hover one for what our passes have measured on their reporting. · 3 reports we hold carry no byline — we do not invent one.

Coverage, outlet by outlet

The Japan Times — independent

BOJ’s Ueda hints at September rate hike as bets on move mount - The Japan Times

The only report that quotes the governor who would actually make the decision, giving a reason of his own: the board must "pay greater attention than before to upside risks".

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent meets with Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda on the sidelines of a Group of 20 finance ministers' and central bankers' meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, on Tuesday. | JIJI Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said the bank’s board would decide on policy with upside price risks in mind, hinting that a rate hike is likely when authorities convene for a board meeting later this month. The central bank will have a thorough debate on policy when it gathers on Sept. 17-18, as it does at every meeting, Ueda told reporters after a meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers

Who is named as acting: Puts the same decision in the hands of the central bank governor, in his own words, after the same meeting on the same day. — ““From the perspective of conducting policy with a risk-management approach as the underlying inflation rate approaches 2%, we have come to believe that we need to pay greater attention than before to upside risks in our policy conduct,” Ueda said.”

Read it at The Japan Times → https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/09/02/economy/boj-ueda-katay…

The Guardian — independent

Global bond sell-off intensifies as US-Iran tensions stoke inflation fears | Bonds | The Guardian

Dates the renewed sell-off to Wednesday, not Tuesday, and puts US-Iran tensions in the headline. The only report to name who the bill lands on in Britain: John Healey, preparing his first budget.

Investors across major markets have been dumping bonds in recent days amid fears about inflation and spiralling deficits. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters Investors across major markets have been dumping bonds in recent days amid fears about inflation and spiralling deficits. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters The global government bond sell-off resumed on Wednesday, driving up the UK’s borrowing costs and exacerbating the challenges facing John Healey as he prepares his first budget.

Read it at The Guardian → https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/sep/02/global-bond-sell-off-u…

T The Irish Times —

Bond sell-off accelerates globally amid inflation fears – The Irish Times

Makes the 10-year gilt the record at 5.23 per cent, "its highest level since the global financial crisis", and puts the 30-year at 5.9 per cent in a subordinate clause. The only report that names Kevin Warsh's Jackson

The US 10-year Treasury yields rose 0.03 percentage points to 4.78 per cent, and the interest-rate-sensitive two-year yield rose to 4.38 per cent, its highest level since early 2025. Photograph: Angela Weiss/Getty Images A global bond sell-off deepened on Tuesday, pushing UK borrowing costs to their highest level since 2008 and Japan’s to peaks not seen since the 1990s, as investors bet that central banks will step up the pace of interest rate increases. The benchmark 10-year gilt yield jumped 0.08 percentage points to 5.23 per cent, its highest level since the global financial crisis, while 3

Which figure is used: the record is the 10-year gilt and dated to the financial crisis; the older 30-year high is a subordinate clause — “The benchmark 10-year gilt yield jumped 0.08 percentage points to 5.23 per cent, its highest level since the global financial crisis, while 30-year yields leapt as much as 0.12 percentage points to touch 5.9 per cent for the first time since the late 1990s.”

Who is named as acting: a named central banker's speech is put among the causes — “Global debt yields have been on the rise this year, with new US Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh’s hawkish tone in his speech at last week’s Jackson Hole symposium adding to the sell-off.”

Which figure is used: Makes the 10-year yield the record and dates it to the 2008 crisis, the same market another report dates to 1998, and gives a different figure for that 10-year yield. — “The benchmark 10-year gilt yield jumped 0.08 percentage points to 5.23 per cent, its highest level since the global financial crisis, while 30-year yields leapt as much as 0.12 percentage points to touch 5.9 per cent for the first time since the late 1990s.”

How hard the claim is stated: Calls a tax cut controversial and asserts the fiscal cause of the sell-off flat, where another report attributes that same cause to a named economist as an estimate. — “Takaichi’s spending plans, including a controversial consumption tax cut, have fuelled fears about Japan’s fiscal position.”

Read it at The Irish Times → https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2026/09/01/bond-sell-off-accelerate…

The Japan Times — independent

Bessent urges BOJ chief to combat weak yen with ‘decisive’ monetary steps - The Japan Times

Sources its whole account of the Ueda meeting to the US Treasury's own statement — Bessent "voiced strong support for 'decisive' monetary steps", "cementing the case" for a hike on 17-18 September. Nothing from the

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Asheville, North Carolina, on Tuesday. | REUTERS ASHEVILLE, North Carolina – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent voiced strong support for “decisive” monetary steps to combat yen weakness in a meeting with Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, the Treasury Department said, cementing the case for a Japanese rate hike this month. In a meeting with Ueda, Bessent also urged the BOJ to anchor inflation expectations and avoid excessive yen volatility through sound monetary policy, the Tr

How deeply it is sourced: one government's readout of another country's central bank meeting, with the conclusion drawn by the report itself — “U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent voiced strong support for “decisive” monetary steps to combat yen weakness in a meeting with Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, the Treasury Department said, cementing the case for a Japanese rate hike this month.”

Who is named as acting: Puts the United States Treasury at the trigger of a Japanese rate decision, sourced entirely to the Treasury's own account of a private meeting. — “U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent voiced strong support for “decisive” monetary steps to combat yen weakness in a meeting with Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, the Treasury Department said, cementing the case for a Japanese rate hike this month.”

Read it at The Japan Times → https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/09/02/economy/us-bessent-boj…

Reuters — independent

How Japan's bond rout is turning the tide of global capital | Reuters

The only report on where the money is going: Japanese investors sold ¥3 trillion of overseas debt this year, and pension funds planning to buy more domestic bonds are at an 18-year high. We hold its summary only.

Read it at Reuters → https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/how-japans-bond-rout-is-turn…

The Japan Times — independent

Japan’s 10-year government bond hits 3% for first time in three decades - The Japan Times

Calls Japan's 10-year 3% a 30-year high, and is the only report to price the fiscal worry: record budget requests of about ¥143 trillion for fiscal 2027, with Nomura's Takahide Kiuchi attributing only 0.5 of the

The Japanese 10-year government bond hit 3%, a 30-year high, on Tuesday as inflation and fiscal concerns continued to weigh on the market and despite official efforts to reassure investors and scare away speculators. With the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump keeping a close eye on the volatility, some analysts have started to contemplate the possibility of more pressure from the United States. “The Trump administration is concerned about the negative impact of a falling yen and dropping bond prices in Japan, making it likely that the U.S. will further intervene in Japanese economi

Read it at The Japan Times → https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/09/01/economy/japan-governme…

The Guardian — independent

UK long-term borrowing costs hit 28-year high | Gilts | The Guardian

Makes the 30-year gilt the record at 5.89%, "the highest since early 1998" — a 28-year high. Its own standfirst says 5.88%.

The Bank of England. Higher yields progressively increase the costs of financing the government’s debt. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images The Bank of England. Higher yields progressively increase the costs of financing the government’s debt. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Yield on 30-year government bonds jumps to 5.88%, the highest since 1998, in bond rout triggered by global factors The UK government’s long-term borrowing costs jumped to their highest level since early 1998 on Tuesday as a global bond sell-off gathered pace. The yield – in effect the interest rate – on 30-year UK go

Which figure is used: the record is the 30-year gilt, and it is dated to the late 1990s — “The UK government’s long-term borrowing costs jumped to their highest level since early 1998 on Tuesday as a global bond sell-off gathered pace.”

Who is named as acting: no actor causes the rout — global factors do — and the standfirst's figure is below its own body's — “Yield on 30-year government bonds jumps to 5.88%, the highest since 1998, in bond rout triggered by global factors”

Which figure is used: Makes the 30-year yield the record and dates it to 1998; its own standfirst says 5.88% where the body says 5.89%. — “Yield on 30-year government bonds jumps to 5.88%, the highest since 1998, in bond rout triggered by global factors”

Read it at The Guardian → https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/sep/01/uk-gilt-yield-long-ter…

The Japan Times — independent

Yamaguchi Financial to dump more Japan bonds on faster BOJ hikes - The Japan Times

The only report that names someone who lost money on these bonds: Yamaguchi Financial Group, $400 million written off last fiscal year and now selling more from a ¥2.04 trillion portfolio, because the Bank of Japan

The rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar seen outside a securities firm next to the Bank of Japan's headquarters (left) in Tokyo in July. | bloomberg When Yamaguchi Financial Group booked $400 million in losses from offloading Japanese government bonds last fiscal year, it thought it had cleaned the slate years ahead of schedule. It turns out that wasn’t enough. The regional bank is now planning to dump even more JGBs from its ¥2.04 trillion ($13 billion) securities portfolio, according to Chief Executive Officer Keisuke Mukunashi. The reason: faster-than-expected interest-rate hikes by the

How the victims appear: the loss that gets a figure belongs to a bank — “When Yamaguchi Financial Group booked $400 million in losses from offloading Japanese government bonds last fiscal year, it thought it had cleaned the slate years ahead of schedule.”

How the victims appear: The only person named as losing money runs a bank, and he is interviewed at length; no borrower or saver is quoted in any report. — ““We compressed five years’ worth of loss-cutting into a single year,” Mukunashi said in an interview at the group’s headquarters in Shimonoseki, the westernmost city of Japan’s biggest island.”

Read it at The Japan Times → https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/09/02/yamaguchi-financial-bo…

Read another desk

Sections

Registers

Desks

The Guardian dates the gilt record to 1998. The Irish Times dates it to 2008. Both carry both bonds.

The story so far

What is being argued about

One market, two records

Who causes it, and who is counted as paying

Claims and verdicts

Who wrote it

Coverage, outlet by outlet