Monetary Policy

Since the Federal Reserve first cut interest rates in September, we have seen the most aggressive rise in US Treasury yields of any cutting cycle over the past 40 years.

In a week when US core consumer price inflation unexpectedly rose to 0.4% month-on-month and Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell told Congress the central bank was in “no hurry” to cut interest rates, many market participants have been surprised by the relatively muted reaction in US Treasuries (USTs).

Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell had the honour of kicking off the 2025 season for the major central banks this week, swiftly followed by the chore of having to plead the fifth every time he was asked about a President Trump policy.

Trade wars and geopolitical risk head a list of potential catalysts for spread widening in 2025. However, with a macro backdrop of falling rates and solid global growth, we think credit will continue to outperform government bonds and support healthy total return expectations for fixed income investors.

The latest non-farm payrolls (NFP) data on Friday showed ongoing resilience in the US labour market. To quote the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Austan Goolsbee, “the labor market seems to be stabilizing at something close to a full employment rate.” Is he right?

We saw a sell-off across the UK Gilt curve on Wednesday with yields rising by 4bp at the short end and 11bp at the long end. This took the 10-year Gilt to 4.80% and the 30-year Gilt to 5.35%, with the latter bringing the unwelcome headline that UK borrowing costs are at their highest since the last century.

With a macro backdrop of falling rates and solid global growth, TwentyFour Asset Management's Eoin Walsh says fixed income investors can expect healthy total returns in 2025.

As most analysts expected, the French parliament on Wednesday brought the metaphorical guillotine down on Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s minority government. The no-confidence motion, brought by an alliance of left-wing parties while Barnier was attempting to pass a budget, was supported by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party.

It is important to understand the historical context behind “global” capital rules, and why they differ for EU and US banks.

Thanksgiving week is usually a lighter one when it comes to data releases in the US. Apart from a PCE and core PCE inflation numbers that came in line with expectations at 2.3% and 2.8% respectively, there has not been much data to move the dial. In Europe, on the other hand, there have been a few data releases and central banker interviews that are worth commenting on.

Real estate, and in particular real estate investment trusts (REITs), was one of the first sectors to come under market scrutiny as interest rates rose, but a strong return to market from Swedish real estate company Heimstaden on Tuesday was the latest sign that expected rate cuts in Europe are easing pressure on the industry.

The European Central Bank (ECB) on Wednesday published its quarterly negotiated wages indicator for Q3, and while this is only one indicator the ECB uses to determine wage inflation across the Eurozone, the growth rate of 5.4% was the highest since the early 1990s.