As much as most would like to forget about 2020, it was a year to remember for the fixed income markets. From the historically aggressive monetary policy of the Federal Reserve, to extreme volatility throughout the fixed income markets due to the pandemic, to a significant change in Fed policy, 2020 was full of surprises … Continue reading Credit Markets: A Year to Remember? →

Since bottoming at a close of 0.54% on March 9, 2020, the 10-year US Treasury yield has slowly and quietly risen nearly 70% to 0.89% as of this writing. With the Fed holding short-term lending rates in the 0-.25% range, the slope of the yield curve has steepened dramatically as seen in the chart below. … Continue reading The Good and The Bad of Rising Interest Rates →

The Federal Reserve announced a significant change in policy during the quarter. The biggest news during the third quarter for credit markets came in late August with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell announcing a change in Fed policy. Going forward, the Fed will focus on “symmetrical inflation targeting,” a fancy way of saying the Fed will … Continue reading Credit Markets: A New Policy Paradigm →

For the first time in history, the Fed is buying corporate bonds. Credit markets participated in the overall market recovery in the second quarter, thanks in large part to the actions of the Federal Reserve. All categories of bonds showed positive returns in the second quarter. The Fed was successful in averting a credit crisis … Continue reading Credit Markets: Thanks to the Fed →

During the worst first quarter in 124 years for equities, credit markets were not immune to the unprecedented volatility in capital markets due to the coronavirus outbreak. With a yield of 1.92% at the beginning of the year, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond ended the first quarter at 0.70% – a stunning 64% drop. … Continue reading Credit Markets: Unprecedented Volatility →

In 2019, credit markets exhibited a high level of volatility due to a number of factors. Overall, our fixed income benchmark, the Barclays Aggregate Intermediate-Term Index, provided a total return of 6.8% for the year, with corporate and junk bonds leading the charge with double-digit returns. The majority of our clients are invested in tax-free … Continue reading The Long and the Short of It →

The third quarter was another volatile one for credit markets, with yields across the maturity spectrum falling as markets continue to price in a slowing economic environment. On the short end of the curve, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates twice this quarter, bringing the Fed Funds target range to 1.75-2.00%. The cut in July … Continue reading Yields Continue to Fall →

Click here to download a PRINT VERSION of this article. At the end of March, the benchmark ten-year U.S. Treasury was yielding 2.41%. The second quarter saw yields on the ten-year Treasury fall by a remarkable 40 basis points (0.40%) to end the quarter at 2.01%. This is a historic drop in interest rates. Many … Continue reading Credit Markets: A Historic Quarter →

Click here to download a PRINT VERSION of this article. After a volatile end to 2018, interest rates continued their move lower in the first quarter driven by a dramatic shift in U.S. Federal Reserve policy and overarching concerns around the health of the global economy. The benchmark ten-year U.S. Treasury, which hit a recent … Continue reading An About Face from the U.S. Federal Reserve →

Bond markets in the fourth quarter experienced a significant amount of volatility as investors attempted to gauge the extent of further Federal Reserve tightening and the likelihood of an economic slowdown as we move into 2019. For the full year, the broad US bond market return was flat while yields vacillated dramatically in the final … Continue reading Credit Markets Showing Great Uncertainty →