Italian Politicians Are Listening to the Market
Last Friday we were surprised that a comment from a G7 finance minister, which should have been taken highly positively, was somewhat skipped over by the markets.
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TwentyFour Blog
Italian Politics Delicately Poised
Our attention this morning was grabbed by a headline from Italy’s La Stampa, which reported that Finance Minister Giovanni Tria is preparing a 2019 budget that will result in a 1.5% deficit/GDP ratio for the indebted EU nation.
Farewell To An Old Friend
Last year, with credit spreads tightening close to historic levels, it seemed appropriate to us to take a more prudent stance and move to a more balanced portfolio.
No Smooth Ride For Tesla Bondholders
Like many of you we have been following the latest developments in the Tesla story with interest and curiosity, though fortunately not as investors, I hasten to add.
Opportunity Amid The Outflows
Typically in August, credit liquidity becomes a bit like my lawn this summer: patchy. Over the past few weeks there have been a few stories of large fund groups seeing significant outflows from the asset class, and even of liquidations, which begs the question: what are they selling?
Is It Time To Buy The Dip?
We have had a lot of discussion, both internally and externally, over the last few days around when might be the time to begin adding more risk to portfolios again.
More AT1 Refinancing
Following on from the release of solid Q2 numbers, and no longer in a closed-period, Barclays were quickly out of the blocks and announced the issue of a new AT1 this morning; a $2bn transaction with initial price talk of 8%.
ABS: 2018 So Far and What To Expect
Now that the summer lull has finally kicked in, it seems an ideal time to review the ABS market so far this year and try to make a prediction for the remainder of 2018.
When Will The Fed Stop Hiking?
Whilst no hike from the FOMC was expected overnight, markets are still pricing in an eighth hike in September and a ninth in December, which would take the upper bound of the Fed Funds rate to 2.5%.
Should Italian yields really be more Greek than Spanish?
It’s been nearly five months since the Italian general elections, with the result and the process of forming a coalition government eventually leading to the steepest selloff in BTPs we’ve seen for a long time, and the spread to bunds touching levels not seen since 2013.
Yield Curve Flattening to Pause
This significant flattening came about as the Fed signalled its determination to push through policy normalisation, with four hikes now expected for the calendar year 2018, which would take the upper bound of the Fed Funds rate to 2.5% by year-end.
UK Rate Hike Now Nailed on
Even in the midst of a busy earning season, discussions on central bank policy never seem to go away.