US

With the Fed’s stance suggesting it is prioritising growth over sticky inflation risks, volatility in longer dated bonds is likely to persist and the case for increasing duration in fixed income is not compelling.

The Federal Reserve (Fed) cut interest rates by 25 basis points (bp) on Wednesday, exactly as markets had anticipated, marking its first rate reduction since December 2024.

Job creation, or rather a lack of it, has been in the spotlight recently as weak non-farm payrolls data in the US has driven a rally in government bonds and strengthened market projections for rate cuts.

The next few days could be pivotal to any concerns around the independence of the US Federal Reserve (Fed).

The $5.2tr asset-backed finance (ABF) market represents a growing opportunity to gain exposure to high quality loan pools and the returns they can generate.

On Thursday, markets received preliminary Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figures for August. As a reminder, PMIs are timely indicators of trends in manufacturing and services, with a number above 50 signalling an expansion and below 50 a contraction.

Restricted Tier 1 (RT1) investors have been woken from an otherwise sleepy summer after Allianz Group, one of the largest insurers and asset managers globally, brought a $1.25bn deal to the market on Tuesday.

In describing how markets have been pricing risk in recent months, the word “complacent” has been uttered on multiple occasions. If that was your view, then Friday’s sharp risk-off move could be seen as a wake-up call, or at least evidence that investors are keenly watching for any change in the more benign macro story that has dominated recently.

The European corporate hybrid market has been established for some time. It is dominated by investment grade issuers seeking to raise capital with limited impact on their leverage ratios, thanks to rating agency treatment that classifies hybrids as 50% equity and 50% debt from a balance sheet perspective.

The US and the European Union (EU) have reached a trade agreement, averting a worst-case scenario of a more damaging trade war.

The Trump administration’s immigration policy leaves the US labour market at a pivotal juncture.

The turbulent start to 2025 has sent many investors seeking alternatives to US assets, but in our view European fixed income can offer more than just diversification.