Bonds

The global shift to a low-carbon world will be "long, hard and complex," but Barclays's commitment is unwavering.

In credit, a risk-taking ebullience has taken hold. The lowest-rated traded company debt is outgunning safer assets.

D.E. Shaw is purchasing credit-linked notes sold by banks that transfer the risk to the buyer in exchange for a coupon payment, while keeping the assets on the lender's balance sheet.

Stickier inflation and deteriorating budget estimates "could start to reverse the 40-year downtrend" of a key measure of how much bond investors are compensated for holding long-term debt.

The trend gained momentum this week, when there was strong demand for contracts wagering that 10-year yields will breach 4.5%, a level they haven't exceeded since November.

The public retirement fund, one of the biggest in the US, said four years ago it would review all of its fossil-fuel holdings as it sought to reduce investment risks linked to climate change.

Treasuries sold off, with two-year yields hitting the highest since before the December central bank "pivot." Swap traders ratcheted down their expectations for a Fed cut before July.

Indeed, investors are also positioning for Friday's consumer-price index revisions because of what happened a year ago: the update was significant enough to cast doubt on overall inflation progress.

Investors tightening their credit pocketbooks is creating opportunities for lenders. Firms like Värde can step into the gap, buying assets from banks and investing in fixed income.

The debate centers around whether the island's main energy supplier, Electric Power Authority or Prepa, must repay its creditors more than just the roughly $19 million sitting in reserve accounts.

Truist sold $3.5 billion of bonds in two parts. The longest portion, an 11-year fixed-to-floating rate security, yields 162 basis points above comparable Treasuries.

Stronger demand for auctions and the recent popularity of the 20-year could already be compelling the department to consider increasing the size the bank's strategists say.

Focused on the next six to 12 months, Pimco looks for the bond market's recent gains to be sustained but not extended in a way that would warrant increasing exposure to interest rates.

Yields moved in tandem — rising sharply in the immediate aftermath of the employment data before going on to swoon as investors used the rise in yields to snap up Treasuries.

Treasuries dipped across the curve as investors re-calibrated Federal Reserve rate cut forecasts on strong jobs data. The 10-year yield hit 4% after data showed U.S. companies ramped up hiring in December.

That said, officials "reaffirmed that it would be appropriate for policy to remain at a restrictive stance for some time until inflation was clearly moving down sustainably."

The U.S. may be less rate-sensitive than other countries due to its long-term mortgages but could face tighter credit from hard-hit financial institutions.

Yields dropped across the US curve after data showed job openings fell to the lowest level since March 2021. Concerns about investors being too fast in anticipating policy easing have resurfaced.

A $55 billion auction of five-year bonds saw strong demand, following a soft $54 billion sale of two-year notes. Benchmark 10-year yields dropped to around 4.4%.

Asset managers said in interviews last week that they're comfortable buying Treasuries and other high-quality bonds at levels they finally see as attractive.