Category Archives: Bonds

Who Owns the U.S. Treasury Market?

Posted on January 30, 2013 by

The 10-year Treasury bond yield traded at 2.03 percent today a level not seen since April 2012. We thought it’s a good time to revisit who are the major holders of U.S. Treasury securities.   Some of the data are … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonds, Fiscal Policy, Interest Rates, Sovereign Debt | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Eurozone Watch Year in Review

Posted on January 1, 2013 by

The Eurozone crisis transitioned from acute to chronic in 2012.  Financial stabilization finally came after the year’s most influential words were uttered by the ECB chief, Mario Draghi, in July, “Within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonds, Weekly Eurozone Watch | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Chart of the Day: Operation Twisted Yield Curve

Posted on December 12, 2012 by

Interesting chart from Bloomberg on how the Fed’s treasury holdings have changed under operation twist, or more formally, the Maturity Extension Program and Reinvestment Policy. After the end of the month no more selling of the short end to buy … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonds, Chart of the Day, Economics, Monetary Policy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Portugal’s Bond Swap

Posted on October 3, 2012 by

Interesting swap.  Note Portugal’s 10-year sovereign spread relative to the German bund has come in 423 bps this year.  The 10-year government bond now yields under 9 percent. (click here if video and chart are not observable)

Posted in Bonds, Euro, PIIGS | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The S&P500′s Stairway to Heaven

Posted on August 16, 2012 by

Stunning price action during these low volume dog days of August.   The market keeps marching higher and just won’t go do down to allow the under invested an opportunity to get long. Ugh! The summer night sweats of a money … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonds, Equities | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

10-year T-Bond Yield & Apple’s Gravestone Doji

Posted on August 14, 2012 by

Not much for you today, folks. The only notable things that caught our attention was the 10-year Treasury yield closing above resistance thus negating what could have been a short-term island top in yields, a common chart pattern in the … Continue reading →

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Bonds Away?

Posted on August 8, 2012 by

The 10-year Treasury yield is starting to bump up against some key resistance levels around 1.68-1.70 percent.   Can’t tell you what it means in these  squirrelly markets, but it is confirmation of the rally in equities. We’re waiting for the … Continue reading →

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The Ideal Portfolio: Gold, Sugar, Bunds & Francs

Posted on July 2, 2012 by

Imagine your investment adviser proposing a sweetened barbell portfolio of gold, white sugar, Swiss francs, and German bunds in 2007 with a 5-year time horizon.   You would of likely canned the wacko faster than they sold Nike stock last week. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonds, Commodities, Currency, Dollar | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Charlie Rose: Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson

Posted on March 31, 2012 by

Excellent discussion on the U.S. fiscal crisis with Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson.  They were co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, commissioned by President Obama in 2010 to identify “…policies to improve the fiscal situation in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Budget Deficit, Economics, Interviews, Politics, Sovereign Risk, State and Local Government | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Kondratiev Wave: End to 30-year bond market rally

Posted on March 20, 2012 by

Interesting stuff from this morning’s CNBC European Squawk, The updated reading of the work of 1920s Russian economist Nikolai Kondratiev shows that interest rates have reached the bottom of a 60-year-long wave, and are bound to go up, Chris Watling … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Equities | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments