Basis Points

Throughout this Fed rate hike cycle, there always seemed to be some sort of disconnect between what the policymakers were saying and what the money and bond markets were thinking. Recently, 'don't fight the Fed' seems to be the current sentiment. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses the shift. Basis Point: 1/100th of a percent.

For the first time since the Fed began raising rates in March of last year, the voting members did not implement a rate increase at the recent June FOMC meeting. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses U.S. monetary policy implications, including investor expectations for the remainder of the year as Powell & Co. take a pause from rate action.  Basis Points: 1/100th of...

With the debt saga still ongoing, sometimes looking at current headlines juxtaposed with historical events can provide some useful context. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan covers what investors can learn from the 2011 credit rating downgrade. Basis Point: 1/100th of a percent

The money and bond markets find themselves in an interesting spot on the calendar, nestled right in between the May and June FOMC meetings. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses the latest Fedspeak and if it could translate to a skip, a pause, or even a cut. Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent. 

It’s been roughly two months now operating in a post-Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) World and the markets are still feeling its impact. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses a very important arena where developments have seemingly flown under the radar of late: the funding markets.  Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent. 

How concerned should investors be about the pending debt ceiling debate? This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan reviews past debt ceiling sagas, discusses what investors should focus on and looks at possible outcomes.  Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent. 

In what was a widely expected outcome, the Fed raised interest rates by another quarter point today, elevating the Fed Funds trading range to its highest level since 2007. Now what? This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses what to expect from Powell & Co. next and what to anticipate for the investment landscape in the months ahead.  Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent. 

Do you remember when inverted Treasury Yield Curves were all the rage? This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan reflects on the year that was and covers the state of the inverted treasury yield curves along with its predictive value on recession fears today. Listen now as Kevin discusses what’s at play in the Treasury market for investors, including, among other things, the 2- and 10-...

After a slew of second-tier data points last week, the market was feeling uneasy about the economy's health, but the March jobs report could provide some breathing room for investors. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses the impact of the latest economic data on the treasury market and potential recession risks. Listen now as Kevin dives deeper into the intersection...

This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses a new dynamic in the U.S. Treasury market ignited by the recent banking crisis. Listen now to hear Kevin’s insights regarding elevated volatility, unusual trading and key yield activities over the last month.  Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent. 

This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses the Fed’s actions following the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. During the episode, Kevin covers the regional and international impact of the collapse and provides a silver lining as the markets continue to grapple with the aftereffects. Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent. 

For the second meeting in a row, the Fed implemented a 25 basis point rate hike, bringing the new fed funds trading range to 4.75% - 5%. The question on everyone’s mind now is whether the Fed continues on their rate hike mission, or is a pause, or even a rate cut in the near future. During this week’s episode of the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses the Fed’s attempt to thread the nee...

Last week was eventful for the bond markets. During this week’s episode of the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan reviews the latest developments against the current backdrop. Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

While inflation appears to have peaked last summer, unfortunately for the Fed, and by extension the bond market, the future road may not be as much of a one-way street to the downside as we saw during the autumn months. During this week's episode of the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan covers the latest Consumer Price Index data and explains why the Fed will continue to operate under the assum...

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.