Archive - Jul 18, 2015 - Story

Maybe not...

If market economists have the Fed right, in about 60 days from now Janet Yellen, chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, will announce the first Federal Reserve rate hike in about 9 years. With the first rate hike pending, an obvious question is - Does the Fed have the timing right? If you're looking at year-over-year growth in Retail Sales, Industrial Production, and Capacity Utilization, the answer is a clear no.

One senior UK bank director said: “The problem with Martin was that he made so many enemies, partly for good reason because banks did rightly need firm treatment after the crisis. But he seemed to have a mindset that all bankers were evil.”

Investors are too myopically focused on expectations of a steep rise in bond yields and on using central bank stimulus to pile back into riskier assets. There is too much complacency.  We believe the upside potential for Treasuries prices for the balance of the year is once again being greatly underestimated. The long end should continue to perform well under various scenarios. If the Fed hikes in September or earlier, the back end should perform well.  If the Fed breaks its implicit promise to hike rates in September, its credibility would be damaged:  unless of course, it was due to a significant deterioration in the economic or political landscape.  Either outcome would likely benefit long Treasury security prices.