TwentyFour

Is there value in floating rate bonds?
Last week both the Fed and the BoE hiked rates by 0.25%, and judging by the Fed's dot plots and comments from the Bank of England (BoE), more hikes will likely follow in the coming months.
TwentyFour

Powell confirms Fed pivot is complete
Officially the Fed pivoted from its ‘transitory’ inflation rhetoric in December last year.
TwentyFour

Is there enough of an ESG premium in EM?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered fresh debate about ESG considerations in fixed income, particularly when it comes to emerging markets assets.
TwentyFour

BoE sounds caution on the real economy
The hawkishness of the Fed on Wednesday paved the way for the Bank of England (BoE) to follow suit.
TwentyFour

Wave of inflation means companies will sink or swim on pricing power
Soaring inflation was already a dominant theme for markets coming into 2022. The sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine have only exacerbated its expected rise, and pushed its expected peak further out.
TwentyFour

FOMC: Central bankers face conundrum on inflation and growth
The much-anticipated March FOMC meeting is finally upon us, and given there was no meeting in February investors will be very glad of this window into the Fed’s thinking, particularly given the ongoing and far-reaching economic ramifications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
TwentyFour

Investors face conundrum on government bond allocations
We think a base case that central banks will follow a more measured monetary policy path than markets are currently pricing in is reasonable given the current backdrop.
TwentyFour

Rising HY defaults more than priced in
Default rate estimations depend on how you define defaults and what index you use, but there is no doubt we are at record lows in European high yield at the moment.
TwentyFour

Investors are overreacting to banks’ Russia exposure
European bank equity has been among the hardest hit sectors since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as fears of losses and a flight to quality have prompted investors to change positioning.
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Steady Fed makes short end look attractive
Escalating geopolitical tensions have contributed to a volatile past week for investors, but uncertainty regarding central bank action continues to dominate the bond markets, with one investment bank now predicting nine straight hikes from the Fed beginning at its March meeting.
TwentyFour

Taking the temperature of credit markets
So far this year, the spread between two-year and 10-year US Treasury yields has declined from 77bp to 51bp.
TwentyFour

What are government bonds saying?
Yield curve shape and yield curve change are often good predictors of the state of the economy and its outlook.