Bonds

Upside Surprises

Aug 16, 2023 2 min read paid

The economy isn't landing; it's flying high. Following better-than-expected July reports for housing starts and industrial production this morning, the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tracking model raised Q3's real GDP growth rate to 5.8% (saar) from 5.0%, after raising it from 4.1% yesterday on a better-than-expected July retail sales report (chart). Consumer spending and residential investment are now tracking at

Ed Yardeni

For the Bulls, The Suspense Is Hard to Bear

Aug 15, 2023 2 min read members

The Bond Vigilantes kept the suspense going today. They closed the 10-year Treasury bond yield at 4.22% (chart). It's widely feared that if it rises above 4.25% (i.e., last year's high), the next stop could be 4.50% and even 5.00% if the yield curve disinverts with the long end rising up to meet the short end. The stock market has been

Ed Yardeni

Market Call: Running Into Resistance & Bond Vigilantes

Aug 2, 2023 2 min read paid

The good news is that almost everyone agrees that an imminent recession isn't very likely. That reduces the downside concerns about corporate earnings. But it increases the downside potential for the stock market's valuation multiple if the bond yield continues to rise. The Bond Vigilantes may be saddling up in response to the widening federal deficit. They don't seem to mind budget deficits when

Ed Yardeni

Time To Get Some Worry Beads?

Aug 1, 2023 2 min read paid

Today's batch of economic indicators was relatively upbeat. June's JOLTS report showed that jobs remained plentiful. July's M-PMI suggests that the rolling recession experienced by goods producers and distributors may be bottoming. June's construction spending rose to yet another record high (chart). The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tracking model estimates that real GDP rose a whopping 3.9% during Q3. That

Ed Yardeni

Bond Yields Spiraling Downward

Apr 5, 2023 2 min read

What does the bond market know that the equity market doesn't? The yield on the 10-year Treasury is down from 4.25% on October 24, 2022 to 3.29% today. The S&P 500 is up 8.0% over the same period. Bond investors must believe that the banking crisis will soon morph into a credit crunch and a recession, so inflation will continue to fall perhaps

Ed Yardeni

Foreigners Buying Lots of US Bonds

Feb 15, 2023 1 min read paid

Foreigners purchased a record $1.6 trillion in US securities over the 12 months through December (chart). That's an impressive US net capital inflow that was generally bullish for the dollar last year and offset the Fed's QT paring of its bond portfolio. Net foreign purchases of US bonds totaled a record $1.2 trillion last year as follows: Treasury notes & bonds ($927 billion), Government

Ed Yardeni

Bonds Weigh On Stocks

Dec 27, 2022 1 min read paid

The 10-year US Treasury bond yield rose from a recent low of 3.425% on December 7 to 3.849% today, the highest since early November. We still believe it peaked at 4.248% on October 12. The spread between the 10-year and 2-year US Treasuries remained inverted at 50bps today. An inverted yield curve tends to coincide with the end of monetary policy tightening cycles and peaks in the

Ed Yardeni

Opera & The Fed

Sep 30, 2022 1 min read paid

They say that "the opera ain't over 'til the fat lady sings." Similarly, the current bear market ain't over until Fed Chair Jerome Powell pivots yet again. Since the late summer, Powell & Co. have been squawking like hawks about their commitment to bring inflation down no matter how high interest rates must go. They should all be wearing Volcker 2.0 T-shirts.

Ed Yardeni

Copper, Gold, Bonds & Stocks

Jul 12, 2022 1 min read

The ratio of the nearby futures prices of copper to gold has been falling lately. The ratio has been a remarkably good indicator for the 10-year US Treasury bond yield.

Ed Yardeni

Is the Bond Market Anticipating Peak Inflation?

Jul 11, 2022 1 min read

The 10-year US Treasury bond yield has recently stabilized around 3.00%. That calm reflects a remarkable increase in the comparable TIPS yield that has been offset by a drop in the expected-inflation component of the nominal yield. What's going on? Consider the following: (1) Until the past few weeks, the daily TIPS yield has been highly correlated with the monthly real bond yield, defined as the spread

Ed Yardeni

Dr. Copper May Be Signaling Peak Inflation

Jun 23, 2022 1 min read paid

Dr. Copper, the base metal with a PhD in economics, may be signaling a top in the CRB raw industrials spot price index. It dropped below $4.00 for the first time this year to $3.92 today (chart below). It may be predicting a global economic slowdown, but it's too soon to tell if it is foreshadowing an impending US recession.

Ed Yardeni

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