Basis Points

For the first six weeks of 2023, volatility in the money and bond markets took center stage, with a full year’s rally occurring in only about one month’s timeframe. However, over the past two weeks, UST yields have completely reversed course. During this week’s episode of the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses the dramatic shift in the market’s narrative. Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 perc...

What happens when the Fed raises rates by 450 basis points in under a year? The answer: inverted yield curves. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses the two most closely watched yield curve gauges, what they mean and why they are important. Basis Points: 1/100th of 1 percent.

After the January FOMC meeting, the U.S. Treasury (UST) market has now arrived at another milestone. UST floating rate notes are now the highest-yielding Treasury security at 4.85%. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses where the markets could go from here, and how our Floating Rate Treasury Fund (USFR) offers investors a means of investing in this space. Basis point: 1/1...

At today’s FOMC meeting, the Federal Reserve downshifted its pace of rate hikes, this time lowering the “speed limit” to 25 basis points (bps), down from December’s 50 bps increase. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan outlines what this means for the economy and inflation and what to expect from the Fed going forward. Basis point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

So far in 2023, the topic of a possible default has been a 'hot-button' topic. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses high yield securities and highlights our U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond Fund (WFHY) as a potential solution. Basis Points: 1/100th of 1 percent.

While the dual mantras of “don’t fight the Fed” and “don’t fight the tape” continue to battle it out, this week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses one aspect of monetary policy decision-making that is getting short shrift: financial conditions. Listen now as Kevin covers the latest updates impacting the money and bond markets and contemplates timing for the next potential rate h...

As we begin 2023, most economic and macro outlooks seem to all be on the same page. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses how these outlooks might change given the current market backdrop. Basis Points: 1/100th of 1 percent.

While the outcome of the December FOMC meeting did not offer any big surprises, the U.S. Treasury market’s response has left some feeling a little perplexed. During this week’s episode of the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan covers the market's response and what it means as we head into the new year. Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

The Fed delivered another outsized rate hike at today’s FOMC meeting, but this time it was ‘only’ by 50 basis points. As a result, the Fed Funds trading range will end 2022 and begin the new year at 4.25%–4.50%. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses what this means for the markets and what to expect from the Fed going into 2023. Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan is joined by Chris Acito, CEO of Gapstow Capital Partners. Listen as they recap what went on in fixed income in 2022 and how 2023 might be different. This is the first in a series of episodes on this subject. Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

In 2023, we expect to see a continuing theme of Fed-induced volatility. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan covers how investors can take advantage of ‘income being back in fixed income’ while potentially removing the heightened volatility quotient with a U.S. Treasury floating rate note strategy. Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

With the money and bond markets preoccupied with inflation, the chance of a recession and Fed rate hikes, the state of the U.S. government’s finances has not received much attention. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan “pulls back the curtain” and provides some insights on this front. Basis Points: 1/100th of 1 percent.

November has gotten off to an inauspicious start for the money and bond markets. Against this backdrop, during this week’s episode of the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses the likelihood of Powell & Co. raising the terminal rate for Fed Funds to the 5% threshold. Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

The Fed delivered another outsized rate increase at today’s FOMC meeting, raising interest rates again by 75 basis points to a new range of 3.75%–4%. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan outlines what this means for the markets and discusses what to expect from the Fed going into 2023. Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan is joined by Morgan Stanley’s Global Head of Macro Strategy, Matthew Hornbach. During the episode, they cover the impacts of the rising 31 trillion-dollar national debt, possible outcomes for the next Fed meeting and key economic indicators for inflation, including: rate hikes, labor markets, U.S. Treasury Yields and more. Basis Point: 1/100th...

This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses the Fed's inflation fighting strategy and the chatter about a “pivot” shifts gears as the hotter-than-expected September CPI report effectively eliminates the possibility of a Powell pivot in the near future.

Given the evolving regulatory environment, this week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan explores the related risks and trends against a volatile market backdrop. Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan takes listeners down memory lane to define the framework of a recession and how it compares with where the US economy has been, where it is and where we believe it might be headed. Basis Points: 1/100th of 1 percent.

This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan is joined by WisdomTree thought leaders Jeff Weniger, Nitesh Shah and Aneeka Gupta to cover a compelling blend of global research and analysis regarding the recent dramatic shift in monetary policy by just about every central bank in the developed world, including: The latest economic and investing developments in emerging and developed markets...

At today’s FOMC meeting, the Fed raised the Fed Funds target by 75 basis points. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses the driving factors behind this decision and what we might expect from the Fed in the future. Basis Points: 1/100th of 1 percent.

This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan recaps the Fed’s latest messaging on inflation and rising rates, their impact on the money and bond markets and turns to the latest jobs report for answers. Basis Points: 1/100th of 1 percent. 

We’ll say it again, there is income back in fixed income! This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan reviews developments in the high yield market. And he focuses in on how considering a quality screen in your allocation approach could be beneficial. Basis Points: 1/100th of 1 percent. High Yield Market Cap is proxied by the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Index. The benchm...

Will the Fed hold‘em, fold‘em or stay? This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan weighs in on the latest debate in the money and bond markets, and contemplates the future landscape regarding interest rate hikes. During the episode, Kevin deals out notable perspectives and possible approaches to consider under the current environment and discusses shorter duration profiles in a fixed in...

This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan provides perspective on the latest labor market data as policy officials continue pushing back against the recession narrative and gear up for the Jackson Hole Conference taking place later this month.

What a week for the money and bond markets. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan continues his discussion on the sticky topic of inflation and breaks down the impact of the latest monetary policies on bond yields as it relates to the volatile market backdrop. Listen now to learn more about potential solutions for positioning your fixed income portfolio today. Basis Points: 1/100th...