With Election Day over, there’s another force in Washington, DC, to be ever mindful of in bond land: the Federal Reserve. On this week’s podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses monetary policy, the one common denominator regardless of the election outcome.

The pandemic and related economic shutdowns required unprecedented fiscal action, but even before 2020, expanding U.S. budget deficits had become the norm. With fiscal year 2020 now officially in the books, Kevin Flanagan discusses how things fared.

One potential outcome following the upcoming election is a “blue wave,” which could lead to slowed economic growth. On this week’s podcast, Kevin Flanagan explains how fixed income investors can prepare for such an outcome.

One potential outcome of the 2020 Election is a Democrat sweep, or the “blue wave,” whereby the presidency and both houses of Congress would be controlled by the Democratic Party. On this week’s podcast, Kevin Flanagan provides a solution for investors seeking to prepare their fixed income portfolio for the possibility of the “blue wave.”

Last Friday was the final jobs report before the 2020 election. On this week’s podcast, Kevin Flanagan provides fixed income investors with a quick rundown of the key takeaways from the report.

While March seems like a long time ago, the repercussions of perhaps the worst two-week period in the U.S. high-yield (HY) arena is now showing through some five to six months later. Despite this, Kevin Flanagan makes the case there is relative value in the U.S. HY market, as long as you screen for quality.

After the end of 2019, the U.S. economy went straight into negative territory, as the pandemic-related shutdowns produced unprecedented contractions in activity. Most market participants have been of the mindset that the economy would not return to pre-pandemic levels until the end of 2021. On this week’s podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses whether the economy can recover sooner than expected.

The Federal Reserve released its new policy framework late last month in connection with Chair Powell’s Jackson Hole speech, so, unsurprisingly, the September FOMC meeting did not generate any fresh headlines. But there is one key question following today’s Fed meeting that Kevin Flanagan seeks to answer: how will the Fed actually implement this new approach?

The headlines surrounding the August Employment Situation report seemed to focus on the moderating pace of new hiring activity. On this week’s podcast, Kevin Flanagan explains why he believes the more notable story was the sizeable drop in the unemployment rate and the impact on the fixed income market.

At last week’s Jackson Hole conference, Chairman Powell announced a noteworthy shift in how monetary policy is now going to be delivered. On this week’s podcast, Kevin Flanagan explains the Fed’s decision to let the economy run “hot, hot, hot” to achieve its average inflation goal over time.