“Volatility always increases at the start of the year, but this time, we are really seeing people buying into the US bond market on the assumption benchmark rates will stay very low until at least 2016,” said Michael Kastner, a managing principal at Halyard Asset Management. Mr Kastner said such “aggressive” bond buying was “risky”. […]
Michael Kastner, principal at Halyard Asset Management, says the benefits of cheaper oil prices will more than offset a shakeout for the energy industry. “We still expect the Fed will raise rates and we could be at 1 per cent by the end of the year,” says Mr Kastner. Deflation fears blur interest rate outlook
December 2014 As we expected, volatility remained elevated in December despite holiday-abbreviated trading. As 2014 came to a close, investors were decidedly at odds over the growth prospects for the economy and the risk and reward inherent in the capital markets. The growth bulls, with whom we include ourselves, believe that evidence abounds that growth […]
November 2014 November witnessed a barrage of better than expected economic data that ordinarily would have pushed interest rates higher. Instead, rates fell as bond prices rallied. In evaluating what went wrong, the obvious culprit is our misjudgment of the demand for U.S. Government securities. We anticipated that the steadily improving economic backdrop would have […]
“The junk bond market is having a hard time and the pressure will continue,” said Michael Kastner, managing principal at Halyard Asset Management. “There are no real buyers right now and mutual funds will keep seeing redemptions.” US energy junk debt sell-off spreads
Michael Kastner, managing principal at Halyard Asset Management, said a further fall in the oil price raises the prospect of more underperformance of junk-rated debt, to the detriment of the broader market. “In fixed income, once you can no longer quantify risk versus return, you head for the exit,” said Mr Kastner. With junk rated […]
“Bankers want to push deals and issuers are looking to take advantage of lower yields,” said Michael Kastner, managing principal at Halyard Asset Management. He expected a flurry of deals before the middle of December, though investors had become more discerning about credit risk, he said. “Corporate deals are not getting done as easily as […]
Michael Kastner, principal at Halyard Asset Management, investigates the impact that incoming legislative changes to money market funds could have on a family office Private Asset Management December 2014
October 2014 As we wrote last month, illiquidity and investor nervousness wreaked havoc on the junk bond market as investors attempted, en masse, to liquidate their junk holdings. That nervousness carried over into the broad capital markets in October in trading that was reminiscent of October 2008. The economy is clearly on solid footing and […]
Michael Kastner, managing principal at Halyard Asset Management says: “There is a view that the Fed will lose its nerve given all the market volatility.” Central bankers had already forfeited markets’ full confidence before this week; now they are starting to be intimidated by them. Wild price swings are flashback to crisis