Fintech decoded: The capital markets infrastructure opportunity

Capital Markets fintechs will bring greater efficiency through innovative technologies such as matching, while driving depth in traded markets and expansion toward new asset classes. Source: McKinsey & Company Technology has long been the engine driving capital market efficiency—both for investors in the markets, and for the capital market infrastructure providers (CMIPs) that operate the exchanges and…

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US corporate bonds sail through equities volatility

 The volatility in equities are steadily moving higher in sovereign yields and a strong demand for debt are likely to be the reasons the corporate bond market has held firm. Source: Financial Times As investors sought to digest the first swoon in US stock markets since early 2016, chipmaker Broadcom outlined plans to tap the debt…

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Provinces brush off market jitters as companies pass on bond issuance

 Provinces and government issuers continue to issue bonds even while companies have stayed away from the primary market. Source: Financial Post Canadian provinces and government-related issuers took a serene approach to the recent turmoil in global markets, carrying on with bond issuance even as companies have stayed away from the primary market. Canada Housing Trust opened…

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‘Failing’ bond auctions are the real reason behind the climb in yields, strategist says

Yields on U.S. Treasurys have touched multi-year highs after nearly three decades of a bond bull market, which up until late 2017 saw a consistent downtrend in yields. Source: CNBC Bond yields are rising because essentially no one wants to buy them, says one investment expert. Forget short-volatility instruments and other suggested culprits of the recent…

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As Markets Plummet, Go-Anywhere Bond Funds Rise to the Occasion

 As interest rates have continued to climb today’s bearish market, the non-traditional bond funds have gained 0.6% this year.   Source: Bloomberg Created after the financial crisis to prosper on rising interest rates, the funds instead have bumped along for years amid persistently low borrowing costs. But as rates have climbed in today’s bearish market, go-anywhere bond…

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Rates are shooting higher on inflation fears, 10-year yield its highest in nearly 4 years

 The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note surged to 2.727 percent on Monday, its highest since April 2014, as investors bet on an accelerating economy and inflation. Source: CNBC A falling dollar this month has also helped drive yields higher, as traders worry it may reduce the appetite for Treasurys, while also boosting inflation. The 10-year yield…

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Bond bear market? Not if pension funds can help it

 Pension funds are in bonds for the long haul, and aren’t swayed by weekly or monthly price fluctuations. Source: The Globe and Mail The death of the bond market bull run has been greatly exaggerated. The life-savers are pension funds, whose demand for long-term fixed income assets could reach record levels this year – and, counterintuitively,…

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Beware the $500 Billion Bond Exodus

 The great on-shoring could prompt multinationals — which have parked much of their overseas profits in Treasuries and U.S. investment-grade corporate debt — to lighten up on bonds and use the money to goose their stock prices.  Source: Bloomberg For years, the likes of Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have stashed billions of dollars offshore to slash their…

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Watch the bond market, not equities

 Despite the US Federal Reserve raising rates five times this year, bond prices have stayed high which has kept the long-term yields low. Source: Financial Times The head of a leading western central bank predicted that his job would soon be akin to flying a plane. The goal was to deliver such a smooth glide path…

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