FICC
| Bonds
Bond market analysis on where to position across government bonds, credit, and inflation-linked debt.
Some tentative signs of life in the global manufacturing data suggest that Treasury yields have some room to move higher in the near term.
We continue to recommend a cautious investment stance, staying at benchmark duration, as the recovery in risk assets looks more like a counter-trend rally than the start of a new bullish run.
The inflation outlook priced into the market is overly bearish, and TIPS breakevens will move higher as the drag on inflation from food and energy prices dissipates.
The Fed's recent dovishness represents an acknowledgement of the feedback loop between Fed policy and financial conditions. Expect Fed hawkishness to ramp back up prior to the next rate hike, likely in June.
The Fed's recent dovishness represents an acknowledgement of the feedback loop between Fed policy and financial conditions. Expect Fed hawkishness to ramp back up prior to the next rate hike, likely in June.
The ECB's new stimulus measures are a sign that the ECB is now looking to provide more direct stimulus to domestic demand by supporting credit growth. The interest rate cuts, and the weaker Euro that comes with it, are over for now.
The current uptrend in Treasury yields will be cut short once the dollar appreciates in response to an increasingly hawkish Fed. Maintain benchmark duration and add a long 2/10 barbell, short 5yr bullet trade to profit from Fed hawkishness.
Fed policymakers will soon shift their focus toward the strong employment and inflation data and stress that further rate hikes this year are likely. This will stem the rally in risk assets and cap the upside in long-dated yields.