Max Severijns

The escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas challenges the appeal of US government bonds as a traditional safe haven. 

Typically, geopolitical tensions drive short-term market moves towards safer assets like cash and US government bonds. However, on Wednesday, the yield on ten-year US government bonds increased by 0.07 percentage points to 4.9 percent, its highest since 2007. The 30-year bond yield also rose to 5 percent. 

Senior loans, currently the highest-yielding bonds, witness substantial inflows in tracker funds. 

Despite posting impressive gains in 2023, Japanese equities seem under-appreciated among global investors. What’s behind this discrepancy in the world’s third-largest economy?

European ESG funds face a record number of closures as greenwashing scrutiny intensifies and the allure of higher fees diminishes, data shows.

Market participants are bracing for an unexpected — and for a long time, unthinkable — interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BoJ). In an interview on Saturday, BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated that he is considering raising rates “provided wages and prices continue to rise sustainably.”

Chinese growth is disappointing. Global asset managers are liquidating large parts of their equity positions in the country, resulting in falling share prices. It seems like a godsend for bargain hunters, but passionate China investors are also on their toes.

China is not growing fast enough, so investors have been liquidating their positions in Chinese stocks at an unprecedented rate.

Declining inflation in the United States is pushing down the dollar. Analysts expect a more prominent role for currencies from emerging markets.

There are ‘strong indications’ that the decreasing US inflation figures, resulting in a lower interest rate expectation in the United States, have triggered the start of a cyclical decline of the dollar, say ING’s currency analysts, Frank Turner, and Francesco Pesole, in a note to investors.

The Federal Reserve’s predicted interest rate peak between 5.5% and 5.75% has left many asset managers uncertain about their rate forecasts for the second half of the year. However, Franck Dixmier, the global CIO at Allianz Global Investors, is undeterred by this ambiguity, stating, “Monetary policy is really starting to bite now.”

“Active management is a sham — no wonder my returns are suspect,” writes Stuart Kirk, FT columnist and former portfolio manager, in his latest attack on active management. However, he conveniently overlooks one important detail.

In the U.S., a surge in deposits from small to medium-sized lenders is leading to a credit crunch across the country as smaller financial institutions sell mortgages and bonds at record pace to offset losses. This looming crisis is causing concern within financial markets about how it will affect economic growth moving forward.