“Anticipation” – Carly Simon Key Takeaways Intermediate and long-term bond yields continued their ascent in March. Bond yields are rising for all the right reasons- economic activity is improving, fiscal policy is taking the baton from monetary policy, and financial conditions are supportive. There is widespread anticipation for higher inflation in the short term, but […]
What is a cryptocurrency? As John Oliver so eloquently put it on his late night comedy show, “It’s everything you don’t understand about money combined with everything you don’t understand about computers…” . Technically speaking, cryptocurrencies are digital assets that are meant to be used as a way to exchange goods and services. Bitcoin is […]
“Getting Better” – The Beatles Key Takeaways Intermediate and long-term bond yields rose rather abruptly in February as investors digested the progress of the vaccine rollout and the return to a risk-on mindset. Fed Chair Powell’s comments to Congress during the month implied a “stay the course” message, emphasizing the need to support the economy […]
It is no secret that the federal government has been spending a lot of money during the past twelve months to combat a historic pandemic and the ensuing economic troubles from lost jobs and reduced consumer spending particularly in the service sector. All this support and years of low rates and supportive financial conditions—and the […]
“Honesty” – Billy Joel Key Takeaways Yields across the curve nudged higher in January, led by the 10-year Treasury yield piercing through the psychological 1% level for the first time since March 2020. Considering the events of the past year related to the global pandemic, a print of 4% (annualized) on GDP gives us some […]
You can’t go anywhere right now without hearing about GameStop, Reddit, r/WallStreetBets, and big returns. This story has made it out of financial circles and has become “news” news. Saturday Night Live even did a skit including the Gamestop hysteria. So while the internet is abuzz and investors have questions we thought we could help […]
Financial markets performed admirably in the fourth quarter even as the pandemic raged across much of the world, partly attributable to two critical developments: the conclusion of the US election and the arrival of multiple vaccines. Now that the much-discussed political uncertainty has been removed and an end is in sight to the pandemic […]
“A Long December” – Counting Crows Key Takeaways Yields on the back end of the curve saw a bump up in rates as investors absorbed favorable vaccine news. Looking into 2021, bond investors will continue to watch the pace of economic recovery. While there is light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, there are […]
“Man Smart, Woman Smarter” – Harry Belafonte Key Takeaways While equity markets hit new highs, US Treasury bond yields changed very little in November. Spreads on corporate and municipal bonds generally tightened during the month. With the 2020 election behind us investors will continue their focus on the speed of economic recovery from the pandemic. […]
When investors purchase bonds they encounter terminologies like premium, discount, or par. Knowing what these words mean can help investors make better decisions about which bonds to purchase and understand how the bonds should behave after they have been added to their portfolio. Generally in life, the term discount signifies a good value. If you […]