The last time Pimco's "bond king" Bill Gross warned long-dated US sovereign bonds were overpriced, his crown slipped. As a result of selling them, his fund took a sufficiently large performance hit in 2011 that he felt the need to publicly apologise. No wonder he is moving more cautiously this time.

Remarks made yesterday by Gross, and reported by Dow Jones Newswires, suggest his attitude is hardening against the long-term prospects for the US government bond market all over again. He advises "thirty and ten-year Treasuries should be sold in favour of safer five-to-seven-year maturities".