Basis Points

Last week was eventful for the bond markets. During this week’s episode of the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan reviews the latest developments against the current backdrop.

Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

While inflation appears to have peaked last summer, unfortunately for the Fed, and by extension the bond market, the future road may not be as much of a one-way street to the downside as we saw during the autumn months. During this week's episode of the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan covers the latest Consumer Price Index data and explains why the Fed will continue to operate under the assumption it ‘has more work to do’ in fighting inflation.

Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

For the first six weeks of 2023, volatility in the money and bond markets took center stage, with a full year’s rally occurring in only about one month’s timeframe. However, over the past two weeks, UST yields have completely reversed course. During this week’s episode of the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses the dramatic shift in the market’s narrative.

Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

What happens when the Fed raises rates by 450 basis points in under a year? The answer: inverted yield curves. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses the two most closely watched yield curve gauges, what they mean and why they are important.

Basis Points: 1/100th of 1 percent.

After the January FOMC meeting, the U.S. Treasury (UST) market has now arrived at another milestone. UST floating rate notes are now the highest-yielding Treasury security at 4.85%. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses where the markets could go from here, and how our Floating Rate Treasury Fund (USFR) offers investors a means of investing in this space.

Basis point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

At today’s FOMC meeting, the Federal Reserve downshifted its pace of rate hikes, this time lowering the “speed limit” to 25 basis points (bps), down from December’s 50 bps increase. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan outlines what this means for the economy and inflation and what to expect from the Fed going forward.

Basis point: 1/100th of 1 percent.

So far in 2023, the topic of a possible default has been a 'hot-button' topic. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses high yield securities and highlights our U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond Fund (WFHY) as a potential solution.

Basis Points: 1/100th of 1 percent.

While the dual mantras of “don’t fight the Fed” and “don’t fight the tape” continue to battle it out, this week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses one aspect of monetary policy decision-making that is getting short shrift: financial conditions. Listen now as Kevin covers the latest updates impacting the money and bond markets and contemplates timing for the next potential rate hike vs. rate cut.

Basis Points: 1/100th of 1 percent.

As we begin 2023, most economic and macro outlooks seem to all be on the same page. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses how these outlooks might change given the current market backdrop.

Basis Points: 1/100th of 1 percent.

While the outcome of the December FOMC meeting did not offer any big surprises, the U.S. Treasury market’s response has left some feeling a little perplexed. During this week’s episode of the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan covers the market's response and what it means as we head into the new year.

Basis Point: 1/100th of 1 percent.