Entries by halyard

Halyard’s Weekly Wrap – 04/29/22

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Last week we flagged the advance report of Q1 GDP as the economic report to watch this week, and we were spot on. Investors were shocked to learn that economic activity contracted 1.5% in the first quarter, driven primarily by trade and government spending. On the bright side, the consumer continued to spend, with the personal consumption measure rising 4.7% over Q1 2021. But a big expansion in imports and reduced government handouts were more than enough to offset the gain in consumption.

Halyard’s Weekly Wrap – 04/22/22

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The invisible hand versus the Fed Chairman wearing the big wooden clogs. That could best describe the comparison of the Volker Fed versus the Powell Fed. Ironically, Chairman Powell, along with uber-dove, ECB Chair Christine Lagarde, spoke at a panel discussion hosted by the Volker Alliance on Thursday. The recently turned hawkish Powell confirmed that the Fed was prepared to raise the overnight Fed Funds rate by 50 basis points…when it meets nearly two weeks from today. Moreover, he strongly suggested that the committee is likely to raise the overnight rate by another 50 basis point when they meet on June 15th.

Halyard’s Weekly Wrap – 04/07/22

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The minutes of the recently concluded FOMC meeting are rarely of interest since the Fed adopted the post-meeting press conference during Chairman Bernanke’s term. Since then, Fed Chair’s have chosen to communicate the committee’s thinking at the post-meeting press conference. Chairman Powell didn’t follow that pattern at the March 15 meeting as the minutes contained “bombshell” information. Two days ago Fed Governor Brainard rocked the markets with her comments that the Fed was ready to begin to reduce its balance sheet. That was confirmed yesterday when the minutes loosely detailed how balance sheet reduction was to be implemented.

March 2022 – Monthly Commentary

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The Halyard Reserve Cash Management (RCM) strategy has encountered an unprecedented sixth consecutive monthly loss. While we are not happy with the string of losses, our conservative positioning has mitigated the downside relative to many of our peers. Since October 1, 2021, the RCM composite has generated a -0.42% loss. Comparatively, PIMCO’s MINT has lost -1.51% and Blackrock’s NEAR has lost 0.82% since October 1st. The loss for the Bloomberg Aggregate Bond Index, the flagship benchmark for the broad fixed income market is down 5.93% for Q1 2022. The loss has accelerated into the second quarter with the Aggregate now down 8.04% YTD thru April 12th.

Losses are unusual for short maturity fixed income portfolios and have been directly influenced by the sharp and steady selloff in the 2-year Treasury note. Since October 1st, the yield-to-maturity of the 2-year note has risen from approximately 0.30% to as high 2.50% earlier this month. The Federal Reserve has been the driver of the sharp rise in short maturity rates. As recently as November, the Fed had assured market participants that the uptick in inflation would prove transitory. Then the Central bank abruptly changed the narrative and communicated that interest rates would need to rise to battle inflation. Since then, the “drumbeat” of forecasted rate rises has gotten louder, and the committee has strongly suggested that there would be a 50 basis point hike at the May 4th FOMC meeting and, likely another 50 basis point at the June 15th meeting, with more to come this year.

Halyard’s Weekly Wrap – 04/01/22

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The brutal bear market in bonds continued this week, with the two-year note 108 basis points higher than where it stood on March 1st. Following a solid non-farm payroll report, two’s are 9 basis points higher for the first day of April. As a result, the 2-year/30-year yield curve is now marginally inverted, which is likely to provoke recession fears. Historically an inverted yield curve signals a recession ahead. We think the selling is getting overdone, but are reluctant to extend duration until we see some stability in the market.

Halyard’s Weekly Wrap – 3/25/22

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The vicious bear market in bonds that began last fall continued this week with the 2-year Treasury note touching 2.33% this afternoon. Recall that the 2-year note closed last week just below 2.00%. Fed speakers were again the driver of the selloff, strongly suggesting a 50 basis point hike at the May 4th FOMC meeting and potentially another 50 basis point at the June 15th meeting. Citibank is forecasting four 50 basis point hikes this year, while Goldman Sachs is expecting that the 2-year note will end the year at 2.90%. Those forecasts and retail liquidation of their fixed income holdings is behind the relentless selling. Ironically, equity investors seem to be unfazed by the sharp selloff in fixed income. Since hitting the low for the year in late February, the S&P 500 index has rallied nearly 10%.

Halyard’s Weekly Wrap – 3/18/22

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All eyes were on the FOMC outcome this week. As expected, Powell and the FOMC raised short term interest rates 25bps to a range of 25ps to 50bps. Market participants interpreted the accompanying statement and Powell’s post meeting comments as decidedly hawkish. This flattened the US Treasury curve further, with an inversion seen in 3 year US Treasury Notes and 5 year Notes exceeding the yield to maturity of the 10 Year Note. A signal usually portending slower growth in the future as interest rate increases slow sectors of the economy most dependent upon leverage.

Halyard’s Weekly Wrap – 3/11/22

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The bond market continues to suffer from the consistent selling pressure that commenced last fall. The rate rise has not been limited to the government bond market. Municipal bonds, Investment grade corporate notes and high yield bonds have all suffered losses. The price of the $35 billion Blackrock I-shares investment grade bond ETF (LQD), the vehicle many investment advisors utilize for their fixed income exposure, is down -9.25% year-to-date. Similarly, PIMCO’s MINT is down -0.79% and Blackrock’s NEAR is down -0.65% year-to-date. As with LQD, both are frequently used by investment managers as an alternative to holding cash.

February 2022 – Monthly Commentary

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The February 24 invasion of Ukraine by Russia has resulted in heightened volatility as bid/ask spreads have widened and liquidity has dried up. President Biden’s decision to punish Russia’s aggression by halting purchases of Russian fossil fuel has caused the price of a barrel of crude oil sky-rocket. West Texas Intermediate briefly touched $130 a barrel on March 7th before settling in around $106 a barrel at the time of this writing. The rise in oil is having a direct impact, as one would expect, on gas prices. While the general population is aware of the dislocations in the capital markets, the rise in the price of gasoline is a direct hit to their wallet and one that has the average citizen worried. Economic forecasters are attempting to back into the price of a gallon of gasoline should the Russian oil ban become a sustained policy, and their forecasts are frightening. Estimates are as high as $150 to $200 per barrel of oil with gasoline topping out at $8 to $10 per gallon. Should the price of a gallon of gas rise to that level, we’re fairly confident that the U.S. economy will be in a recession. As it is, the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDP calculator is forecasting 0.041% economic growth in Q1 2022. We wonder how the investing public is going to react to 0% economic growth after enjoying 6 quarters of “eye-popping” economic growth fueled by emergency COVID stimulus. The first estimate of that growth comes at the end of April so we have plenty to worry about between now and then.

Halyard’s Weekly Wrap – 03/04/22

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The heighted volatility we saw last week intensified this week as bid/ask spreads widened and liquidity has begun to dry up. Volatility was elevated across the board with crude oil continuing to sky-rocket, developed foreign exchange showing marked weakness versus the U.S. dollar and equity volatility, as measured by the VIX index, closing the week at the high end of the recent range. Of course, the panicky market is a result of Russia’s declaration of war against the Ukraine. While the general population is aware of the market dislocations, the rise in the price of gasoline is a direct hit to their wallet and one that has the average citizen worried. As we close out the week, economic forecasters are attempting to back into the price of a gallon of gasoline should the global economy halt the import of Russian oil, and their forecasts are frightening. Estimates are as high as $150 to $200 per barrel of oil with gasoline topping out at $8 to $10 per gallon. Should the precious commodity rise to that level, we’re fairly confident that the U.S. economy will be in a recession. As it is, the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDP calculator is forecasting 0.041% economic growth in Q1 2022. We wonder how the investing public is going to react to 0% economic growth after enjoying 6 quarters of “eye-popping” economic growth fueled by emergency COVID stimulus. The first estimate of that growth comes at the end of April so we have plenty to worry about between now and then.