INSIGHTS AND
COMMENTARY

Bond Investors: Beware the Ides of March

While stocks are off to a strong start this year, most bond indexes are down and the risks for bond investors continues to grow. The culprit? Rising interest rates. When rates rise, bond prices fall. The next Federal Open Markets Committee interest rate announcement is March 15th. What is the probability of another increase in rates? What about further rate increases this year?

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Winning Streaks:Why You Should Pay Attention

The current rally in U.S. equities is quite extraordinary. New all-time highs, falling volatility and broad sector participation are just a few of the characteristics of the rally that started in November 2016 and continues today. The current momentum is especially interesting considering it was born in the backdrop of a highly-contested U.S. election, and endured a December 2016 interest rate..

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Chapter 11 Filings Reach 2008 Level

Economic imbalances, anemic global growth and the bursting of the commodity super cycle has created a challenging environment for over-levered companies, a climate strikingly similar to 2008.

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Raising Rates Into Defaults

Yesterday markets saw a large default in the energy space. Arch Coal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy citing tumbling domestic coal demand as the reason. Arch Coal’s default on $3.2 billion will raise the metals and mining sector’s trailing 12-month default rate from 11% at the end of December to 15% through today. However, it will bring the default rate for the coal sub-sector to an unprecedented..

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