If launched, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), as I have recently warned, will put at risk the independence of monetary policy and what little is left of fiscal discipline within their borders of circulation. Central banks are not stopping at … Read More

The global economic recovery pushed risk assets higher in the third quarter of 2020 as markets extended their rebound from the lows reached in March caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Scaled-back government-imposed shutdowns and statements from global central banks reiterating … Read More

Fixed Income Returns and Yields – through September 2020

Over the past decade, central banks have added to their policy toolkit such practices as quantitative easing (QE) and, in Europe and Japan, negative interest rates. Formerly viewed as unconventional, these tools are now seen as necessary, even conventional, methods … Read More

Entering the 2016 election year, Washington seemed on the cusp of launching the first major federal infrastructure spending initiative since the construction of the interstate freeway system more than a half-century ago. Then hyperpartisanship overwhelmed Capitol Hill, including the divisions … Read More

In March, the COVID-19 pandemic caused an abrupt market sell-off, which was largely driven by technical factors, including severe illiquidity. In response, the Federal Reserve announced the creation or re-activation of various Fed-sponsored financing facilities to support the function of, … Read More

Despite late-cycle concerns after a decade of continuous growth, U.S. commercial real estate (CRE) appeared on track to extend positive performance through 2020. CRE benefited from a strong macroeconomic backdrop with low odds of recession and stable fundamentals while heading … Read More

During the first quarter, U.S. rates broadly rallied across most tenors. The two-year Treasury yield fell 132 basis points (bps) to 25 bps while the 10-year Treasury yield fell 125 bps to 67 bps as of March 31. Concurrently, credit … Read More

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year unleashed a worldwide public health crisis not experienced since the Spanish flu of 1918. Economic lockdowns ordered to slow the spread of the virus triggered an economic calamity in the U.S. … Read More

While of recent invention, the catch phrase “Smart Beta” represents an extension or evolution of “quantitative investment” techniques of decades-old lineage. The revolutionary movement lies in Smart Beta’s democratization of these techniques and making them transparent to investors.

By way of … Read More