Analysis: Interest Rates

Trump deregulation push boosts appeal of swap spread wideners in bond market

NEW YORK -A potential move by the Federal Reserve to ease regulations on capital for U.S. banks that would allow them to hold more Treasury securities has unleashed a torrent of so-called swap spread...

Rates: Fears of an economic slowdown

For several months, bond yields have been rising on fears of a rapid return to inflation in the United States. In fact, Scott Bessent of the Treasury has declared that lowering the US 10-year is a...

Trump flags crypto reserve, mum on funding

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. It's been a bumper day for crypto fans after President Donald Trump took to social media to announce a proposed...

China's Feb second-hand home prices narrows for seventh straight month, report says

The average price of second-hand residential properties across 100 Chinese cities fell by 0.4% month-on-month in February, according to a report by a Chinese real estate research institute, narrowing...

China urged to think big, go hard on reviving battered consumption

Coco Wen took advantage of China's consumer subsidies to buy herself a new iPhone for about two thirds of the original price. At the same time, she's cutting spending on other things. I...

Rates: Financials benefit from steepening

As an investor in US individual stocks, you'll no doubt have noticed that since the start of the year, the 7 magnificence has lost some of its lustre, as has the technology sector as a whole. On the...

China's key property rescue tools are too hard to use to make an impact

Key tools China introduced last year to stabilise the property market are making very little impact, pressuring Beijing to find new solutions for the crisis-hit sector, which analysts say must involve...

Foreign holdings of US Treasuries fall in December

Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries fell in December as the two largest foreign holders of the government debt, Japan and China, both cut their portfolios, data from the Treasury Department showed on...

Rates: No further cuts in sight

The release of a rising consumer price index provided further evidence that the Fed intends to pause its rate-cutting cycle. Moreover, Jerome Powell took advantage of his Senate hearing to hammer home...

Trump's focus on US yields fuels bets on bank leverage rule review

The Trump administration's pledge to contain long-term U.S. Treasury yields has strengthened bond market expectations that a long-desired regulatory shift on bank leverage requirements could be...

Chinese exporters brace for 'rat race' in shift away from US

Jeremy Fang, a sales officer at a Chinese aluminium products maker, is trying to export more to markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America to offset the U.S. tariffs' impact. The problem, he says, is...

Ukraine ceasefire hopes soften US inflation blow

A look at the day ahead in Asian markets.  Investors banking on the recent decline in U.S. bond yields and the dollar underpinning a rally across risk assets got a stark reminder in the...

Interest rates: A wind of optimism

Two weeks ago, Deepseek threw a spanner in the works by proposing an open-source generative AI. But has the Chinese application really reshuffled the deck? The game is far from over.

Cloudy Amazon, payrolls and a flatter curve

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan Another forecast miss from a U.S. megacap combines with caution ahead of January's employment report to keep a lid on...

US bond market lukewarm on Bessent's 10-year yield pledge

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's pledge to contain yields on 10-year Treasury notes met some skepticism in the bond market on Thursday, as inflationary pressures and expectations of a widening...

Trump's aid cuts imperil emerging market investment cash

The United States' decision to freeze and potentially scrap its core aid agency jolted countries receiving its funding and could make it harder for emerging economies to attract private cash,...

Stagflation Is a Concern for State Street Strategist Loh

Marvin Loh, senior global macro strategist at State Street , says he is in the bear steepening camp which keeps him hesitant to really embrace duration in the bond market. ...

Markets confounded by Trump's Gaza proposal

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. First off, nobody knows what to make of President Donald Trump's sudden suggestion that the United States take...

Tariffs, earnings eyed as China reopens

A look at the day ahead in Asian markets.  First Mexico reached agreement with the United States to put U.S. tariffs on ice, then Canada did likewise, leaving the world's attention on...