Basis Points

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.

Chairman Powell is scheduled to take center stage at the annual Jackson Hole conference. The focus will be on what, if any, adjustments can be expected with respect to inflation targets and the Fed’s balance sheet. Kevin Flanagan discusses the possible outcomes on this week’s podcast.

As we continue to be bombarded with headlines and news stories on a 24-7 basis, sometimes it is difficult to know what to focus on in terms of economic numbers. On this week’s podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses which reports investors should look to as economic indicators in the current investment landscape.

As we enter mid-August and the end of summer, Kevin Flanagan takes a step back and provides an analysis on the current state of affairs in the fixed income arena.

When the pandemic began to shut down global economies earlier this year, there were dire forecasts for what it would mean for economic activity. Unfortunately, the prognostications proved to be accurate, and Q2 produced record-breaking contractions in GDP in both the U.S. and eurozone. On this week’s podcast, Kevin Flanagan attempts to answer the natural question: What comes next?

The Federal Reserve’s current easing cycle began exactly a year ago. One year later, there is a zero interest rate policy with a revamped quantitative easing policy to ward off another potential financial crisis. On this week’s podcast, Kevin Flanagan explains why, against this backdrop, it should come as no surprise the Fed decided to take a bit of a summer vacation at this July FOMC gathering.

The focus of money and bond markets has been on the 3-month LIBOR–OIS spread. On this week's podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses the latest moves in the fixed income space and why we may not be out of the woods yet.

The economy is two for two in terms of a better-than-expected U.S. jobs reports. Just like last month, the June numbers exceeded expectations. Kevin Flanagan discusses.

When following rate trends here in the U.S., it’s easy to focus only on domestic factors. On this week’s podcast, Kevin Flanagan discusses some interesting developments overseas that have been largely ignored in market commentary, encouraging investors to start thinking globally.