The normalization of interest rates has begun. We’ve warned for some time that Fed-engineered interest rate manipulation would result in investor losses once the central bank ended the practice. May was the beginning of that trend. Comments made by several members of the Federal Open Market Committee suggesting that the Fed was contemplating “tapering” the […]
“No one wants to own Tips and the lack of Fed talk as yields have risen suggests they are letting the market feel its way,” said Michael Kastner, managing principal at Halyard Asset Management. QE worries drive Treasury rates up
“We are definitely worried that the market is in a cycle where selling of bonds begets more selling,” said Steven Boyd, principal at Halyard Asset Management. The hefty outflows illustrate the anxiety of investors ahead of the May employment report due on Friday. The Federal Reserve has indicated that its suppression of interest rates under […]
“No one likes to see equities close at their low on a Friday as it sets the market up for an ugly open the following week,” said Michael Kastner, managing principal at Halyard Asset Management, adding that short sellers in the Treasury market were closing positions later in the day. Markets whipsaw on Fed uncertainty
“Volatility is here for a while and will rise further,” said Michael Kastner, principal at Halyard Asset Management. “It’s clear that Bernanke wants to prepare markets for less stimulus. Stocks look expensive and a correction would be healthy.” Market bulls run into the sand
April 2013 In April, the stock market continued to climb “a wall of worry,” as investors feared that earnings would disappoint despite better than expected economic activity in the first quarter. Compounding that fear was the 2-day 9.40% slide in the price of gold, which reminded investors that market panics occur from time to […]
Michael Kastner, principal at Halyard Asset management in New York said bond buyers were usually wary of buying debt from companies seeking to buy back shares but that because Apple was sitting on so much cash, this was likely to be a very popular sale. Kastner said it was part of a larger trend as […]
“Corporations are really coming out of the woodwork after earnings season to sell debt and buy back stock,” says Michael Kastner, principal at Halyard Asset Management. Crowds line up for a bite of Apple’s big bond
“As a bond investor you don’t want to buy debt which is being used to fund share buybacks, but in the case of Apple, it’s a drop in the ocean compared to the size of their overall cash holdings,” said Michael Kastner, principal at Halyard Asset Management. Apple cleans up with $17bn US bond issue
March 2013 For the month of March, the bond market was as volatile as the weather in the Northeast, with prices plunging with the falling late winter snow and rising into month end as the mercury began to rise. During the month, economic activity was decidedly upbeat, surprising investors who were prepared for a […]