Free Republic

…. The 10-year Treasury yield added more than 7 basis points to 4.468%. The 2-year yield rose more than 9 basis points to 4.016%, while the 30-year bond yield advanced more than 4 basis points to sit at 4.931%. One basis point equals 0.01%. Yields and prices move inversely in the bond market……

-Yields on 20- and 30-year U.S. Treasurys are trading above 5.1%, amid lingering uncertainty around the U.S. economy. -One strategist told CNBC the U.S. is staring into an “emerging markets trap” as yields continue to rise. -Some investors are looking to diversify their fixed income allocation to other parts of the world.

Treasury yields moved back to levels that have pressured the economy and financial markets in the past as investors feared a new U.S. tax bill could worsen the country’s budget deficit, a risk highlighted in a Moody’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating to end last week. The 30-year Treasury bond yield was up about 11 basis points to 5.08%, breaking above the key 5% level for the second time this week and reaching a level not seen since October 2023. The 10-year yield was 10 basis points higher at 4.59%, returning to levels that caused turmoil in the markets...

The U.S. Federal Reserve just pulled off something stealthy — over four days last week, without fanfare, the Fed vacuumed up $43.6 billion in U.S. Treasurys. That’s $8.8 billion in long-dated 30-year bonds on May 8 alone, plus another $34.8 billion earlier in the week. Not exactly small change…. … Commodity traders, in particular, have a nose for monetary sleight-of-hand. Gold GC00, the ultimate financial cynic’s metal, has risen sharply since early 2024. Gold doesn’t believe in politicians, central bankers or economists — even the Ivy League types who wave their hands and promise stability. It believes numbers. But this...

About one-third of all municipal bonds issued in 2024 and outstanding through 2024 are from sanctuary jurisdictions, concentrated in large cities and states, such as California, New York, and Massachusetts...The absence of truly objective bond ratings or comprehensive risk assessments for sanctuary jurisdictions may place investors, particularly individual investors, who own a significant share of this market, at a disadvantage.

Finance minister Katsunobu Kato hints that country’s more than $1tn in Treasuries gives it leverage in negotiations Japan’s finance minister has publicly identified the country’s more than $1tn holdings of US Treasuries as a “card” in its trade negotiations with the Trump administration, in a rare baring of teeth by America’s closest ally in Asia. Speaking during a television interview on Friday, Katsunobu Kato was asked whether Japan would use its traditional stance as a non-seller of Treasuries as a tool in trade talks with Washington. “It does exist as a card,” said Kato, adding that “whether or not we...

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose Monday as investors weighed concerns over tariffs and comments by President Donald Trump criticizing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was 8 basis points higher at 4.401%. The 2-year Treasury yield was 1 basis point lower to 3.788%. One basis point is equal to 0.01%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions. The moves come after Trump on Friday levied another salvo at Powell for not lowering interest rates. The president vocalized his discontent with the Fed chair’s economic policy leadership during a question-and-answer session with reporters....

Gold gains some ground despite U.S. dollar’s rebound as traders focus on the continuation of the pullback in Treasury yields. From the technical point of view, gold needs to settle above the resistance at $3235 – $3245 to gain additional upside momentum in the near term. Silver remains stuck below the 50 MA at $32.51 as traders wait for additional catalysts. If silver moves back below the $32.00 level, it will head towards the nearest support at $31.45 – $31.75. Platinum tests new highs as rally continues amid tariff optimism. Platinum is heading towards the nearest resistance at $960 –...

KEY POINTS -On Friday, falling bond prices pushed the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield briefly above 4.5%, up from 3.99% just a week prior. -The ICE U.S. Dollar Index hit its lowest level in three years. “The market is re-assessing the structural attractiveness of the dollar as the world’s global reserve currency and is undergoing a process of rapid de-dollarization,” Deutsche Bank strategist George Saravelos said in a note to clients Friday. But on Friday, falling bond prices pushed the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield briefly above 4.5%, up from 3.99% just a week prior. Meanwhile, the ICE U.S. Dollar Index hit...

Global markets have reached a day of reckoning. This has been decades in the making. Now, massive changes are sweeping the world. No, what we’re seeing in the markets is not “normal.” Instead, this is the: Moment precious metal investors have been waiting for Birth of a multipolar world order (U.S. is no longer the sole superpower) Start of a very uncertain period for bonds and fiat currency Peak of globalization In short, you no longer have the luxury of relying on the old rules, the old way of thinking. It’s time for a new playbook. Bond Outlook: Murky Since...

U.S. Treasury investors were left bruised on Wednesday despite a temporary pause in U.S. tariffs, as some funds were forced to sell bonds in a dash for cash while others called into question the bonds’ status as the world’s safest asset. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes, which had jumped to a seven-week high, maintained higher levels after President Trump said on Wednesday he authorized a 90-day pause for most of his new tariffs but was raising the tariff rate for China to 125%, effective immediately. An afternoon auction of 10-year Treasury bonds, which had been a focus of the market,...

Confidence in the US economy is plummeting as investors dumped government debt amid growing concerns over the impact of Donald Trump's tariffs. On Wednesday, the yield - or interest rate - on US bonds spiked sharply to touch the highest level since February at 4.5%. The government sell bonds - essentially an IOU - to raise money from financial markets and these are viewed as a safe investment, meaning the US normally does not need to offer high rates to attract buyers. Trump has gone ahead with sweeping tariffs on goods being imported into the US, while Washington's trade war...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. Treasuries extended heavy losses on Wednesday in a sign investors are selling even their safest assets as a global market rout unleashed by U.S. tariffs takes an unnerving turn towards distress and a dash for the safety of cash. "This is beyond fundamentals right now. This is about liquidity," said Jack Chambers, senior rates strategist at ANZ in Sydney. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, the globe's benchmark safe-haven anchor, was up 20 basis points and rising in Asia - a remarkable move in a time zone where it's usually fairly steady. At 4.46% the yield is...

A key Treasury auction this week could test one of the central planks of President Donald Trump's tariff strategy as markets reel amid the largest swings in Treasury yields in more than two decades. President Trump has insisted that his tariff plans, which will impose sweeping levies on goods imported from virtually every nation in the world, paid for by American companies and consumers, will ultimately benefit the domestic economy with lower interest rates even they slow growth and stoke inflation along the way. The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, wants to see more evidence of their impact on the world's biggest...

China responds by selling another $50BN in TSY. Oh btw, the yield on 10Ys is now almost unchanged from Liberation Day!

President Donald Trump raised eyebrows Friday by sharing a video on Truth Social that claims he purposefully crashed the stock market to "push cash into treasuries." Trump's timing was especially provocative because his rollout of tariffs the previous day resulted in a multi-trillion dollar market wipeout.

Investors abroad sold longer term Treasuries for three consecutive months, a sign of central bankers reducing their reliance on the U.S. as a financial buffer. In January, foreigners sold a net $13.3 billion of U.S. notes and bonds that had more than one year to maturity, the latest Treasury data show. It comes after $49.69 billion was sold in December, following sales of $34.41 billion in the month of U.S. elections, November. Global central banks represent a big chunk of foreign demand. Before the back-to-back net selling of the world’s safest debt, foreigners had kept buying for 15 straight months....

*** On Tuesday, Trump issued a memorandum entitled “Ensuring the Enforcement of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c),” and directed it to “the heads of executive departments and agencies.” The order opens by describing the way activists, using donated and government-granted funds, have been obtaining sweeping injunctions from carefully selected district court judges (that is, those seated in forums friendly to Democrats). With the judges’ help, the activists have been ” functionally inserting themselves into the executive policy making process and therefore undermining the democratic process.”...it’s mandatory, although the government never seems to have bothered pushing for security before: The...

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES Subject: Ensuring the Enforcement of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c) In recent weeks, activist organizations fueled by hundreds of millions of dollars in donations and sometimes even Government grants have obtained sweeping injunctions far beyond the scope of relief contemplated by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, functionally inserting themselves into the executive policy making process and therefore undermining the democratic process. This anti-democratic takeover is orchestrated by forum-shopping organizations that repeatedly bring meritless suits, used for fundraising and political grandstanding, without any repercussions when they fail. Taxpayers are forced...

EU defence spending plans are driving German, French, and Italian bond yields higher. Japan’s are soaring too. The dollar is sinking: what does it all mean for gold and silver? A graph. This week, the end-February decline in gold and silver prices appear to be over, with a recovery based on a firm undertone. In early European trading this morning, gold was $2,920, up $60 from last Friday’s close, and silver $32.60, up $1.50. Despite the recent transfers of physical gold into New York, there still appears to be a bear squeeze in place. Look at how Comex Open Interest...