Treasury, municipal and corporate bonds
10-Year Treasury yields are headed for a test of resistance at 1.70 percent after recovery above the descending trendline warned of a “bear trap” — actually a bull trap because yields are the inverse of price. Follow-through above 1.60 percent has confirmed, and breakout above 1.70 would signal an advance to 2.0 percent* — a bullish sign for stocks.
* Target calculation: 1.70 + ( 1.70 – 1.40 ) = 2.00
10-Year Treasury yields gapped above resistance at 1.45 percent and the descending trendline, signaling an outflow from Treasuries and into stocks. Breakout above 1.70 percent would suggest a primary down-trend for bonds (price is the inverse of yield) and an up-trend for stocks.
* Target calculation: 1.45 – ( 1.70 – 1.45 ) = 1.20
Retracement of 10-Year Treasury yields respected the new resistance level after breaking support at 1.45 percent, signaling a decline to 1.20 percent*. There has been little change in Fed holdings over the past week that could distort bond flows. Declining yields reflect investors leaving stocks for the safety of bonds and warn of a stock market correction. Recovery above 1.70 percent is most unlikely– without QE3 — but would suggest another stock market rally.
* Target calculation: 1.45 – ( 1.70 – 1.45 ) = 1.20
10-Year Treasury yields are testing support at 1.45 percent. Breach would offer a target of 1.20 percent*. Declining yields suggest that money is flowing out of stocks and into bonds. Recovery above 1.70 percent is unlikely but would suggest another stock market rally.
* Target calculation: 1.45 – ( 1.70 – 1.45 ) = 1.20
Latest stats from the Fed show holdings of Treasury notes and bonds increased by $3.9 billion over the last week, which may have contributed to the decline. Holdings of (short-term) Treasury bills fell to $14.6 billion, leaving little room for further “Twist” operations — where the Fed swaps short-term holdings for long-term Treasuries.
10-Year Treasury yields broke medium-term support at 1.55 percent, indicating another decline. Breach of support at 1.45 percent would confirm, offering a target of 1.20 percent*. Latest stats from the Fed show holdings of Treasury notes and bonds fell over the last week, so the fall is not due to “Operation Twist”. Declining yields suggest that the current stock market rally is likely to fail: money is flowing out of stocks and into bonds. Recovery above 1.70 percent is unlikely but would suggest another stock market rally.
* Target calculation: 1.45 – ( 1.70 – 1.45 ) = 1.20
10-Year Treasury yields are testing support at 1.55 percent. Falling yields suggest that the current stock market rally is likely to fail: money is flowing into bonds — not stocks. Failure of support would strengthen the warning. Recovery above 1.70 percent is less likely but would bolster the stock market rally.
Since the start of 2007, a cumulative $350 billion has flowed out of stock funds and a little over $1 trillion has moved into bond funds….. In 2011, 45% was in stock funds and 25% in bonds; in 2005, the mix was 55% for stocks and 15% in bonds…..
via AHEAD OF THE TAPE: Stocks Out of Fashion Amid a Bonding With Bonds – WSJ.com.
Comment:~ Low bond yields and higher risk premiums on stocks (stock earnings yield minus bond yield) highlight investors flight to safety. But this is no guarantee that bonds will continue to out-perform stocks. Bond yields must be close to hitting a “floor” and, with no further capital gains, investor returns will be meagre — while stocks grow increasingly attractive.
Kristina Peterson and Jon Hilsenrath: The Fed’s [Twist] program is designed to work by taking long-term bonds off the market, nudging investors into riskier assets, such as stocks, that could help boost the economy. The problem is that while the Fed has been snapping long-term bonds off the market, the Treasury Department has been ramping up its issuance of long-term debt to take advantage of historically low long-term rates. Since October 2008, the average maturity of outstanding marketable Treasurys has climbed by nearly 32%, reaching almost 64 months in May, the agency said earlier this month. That’s its highest level in a decade.
via Bernanke Acknowledges Treasury Strategy at Odds With Fed Policy – Real Time Economics – WSJ.
The demand among average investors has swelled so much, in fact, that they bought more Treasurys in the first quarter than foreigners and the Fed combined.
Households picked up about $170 billion in the low-yielding government debt during the quarter, while foreigners increased their holdings by $110 billion.
via Guess Who’s Buying All the Bonds? (It’s Not the Fed) – US Business News – CNBC.
Comment:~ Jim Bianco points out: “If mom and pop were really the end buyers we would expect to see similarly booming numbers from the mutual fund industry. However….mutual fund purchases are a somewhat insignificant portion of domestic buying. Our guess is the domestic buyer is a leveraged carry trader, a mutual fund, a brokerage subsidiary or other group that does not have its own category so it gets ‘dumped’ into the default category of households.”
[Hat tip to Barry Ritholz]
Treasury yields fell through the key support level of 1.70 percent as investors, seeking a safe haven, flowed into bonds. Declining 63-day Twiggs Momentum warns of further easing.
* Target calculation: 1.70 – ( 2.40 – 1.70 ) = 1.0
