Bonds & Interest Rates

Why I’m Dumping My Bond Funds… and You Should Too

shutterstock 560527951-1-1024x535Fixed income is supposed to be a conservative strategy for generating income.

And if you do it right – by owning some individual bonds – you’ll be just fine. 

But bond funds aren’t the same as individual bonds.

And that’s why, starting this week, I’m purging bond funds from my personal portfolio.

….continue reading HERE

 

…related:

Bill Gross: Bond Fundamentals Confusing

Canada’s 2017 Economic Outlook: A Tale of Two “Tails”

 

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  • We believe active investors’ success in adding value in Canada’s markets in 2017 will hinge on their ability to navigate an increased probability of extreme economic outcomes – both good and bad.
  • Left-tail outcomes could result from protectionist U.S. trade policy, including Donald Trump’s promised renegotiation of NAFTA, and the potential for higher interest rates that would affect Canada’s debt-laden consumers and detract from GDP growth by lowering consumption and residential investment.
  • Right-tail opportunities could develop if pro-growth policies in the U.S. drive economic growth north of the border by spurring exports and business fixed investment.
  • As U.S. rates rise, we would expect Canadian rates to rise and for the yield curve to steepen. However, the Bank of Canada’s more accommodative stance would likely translate to a slower pace of increases than in the U.S.

….continue reading for the & “Invesment Implications” HERE

…related from Michael:

For Canada the Trump Effect Is Unavoidable

 

The Canadian Comeback: Oil Rig Productivity Takes A Huge Leap

20170126 Figure 1ACanada’s Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) is one of the largest repositories of hydrocarbons in the world, with plenty of source rocks that are conducive to the same innovative processes that are delivering impressive results in the US. Yet productivity improvements in Canada have lagged – until recently.

Introduction of larger, AC electric “triple” rigs that can walk on pads has lagged the US. But the modern fleet has risen in the WCSB and geriatric rigs have been retired. Over the past year other ingredients in the United States secret sauce have been adopted by Canadian industry in a big way. Established producers in the WCSB are going down the learning curve quickly; validating the notion that Canadian rocks can perform as well as other highly productive regions

….read more HERE

….also:

Weaker US$ Could Send Gold & Gold Stocks to Higher Targets

 

Trump seems determined to punish the U.S. dollar

MW-FE890 trump  20170201091243 ZHThe dollar unraveled in January and some see more declines in its future

On Jan. 17, currency traders pushed the dollar lower after Trump expressed concern about the strength of the currency, describing it as “too strong,” considering where currencies like China’s yuan USDCNY, +0.0058%  and the Japanese yen USDJPY, -0.69%  were trading. Yesterday, Trump’s National Trade Council head, Peter Navarro, in an interview with the Financial Times (paywall), sparked a sharp rise in the euro USDEUR, -0.3446%  versus the dollar. 

The action prompted Steve Barrow, currency and fixed-income analyst at Standard Bank in a Wednesday note to forecast that the roller-coaster ride for the buck would likely end with greenback significantly lower at the end of Trump’s tenure in the White House. Barrow predicts a 10% near-term rise for greenback followed by “a multiyear downtrend that sees this entire rise, and much more, reversed as we head towards the next election.”

...continue reading HERE

….related: Trump is waving adios to the longstanding ‘strong dollar policy’

Long Liquidation Looks Bullish for Gold

Rudi Fronk and Jim Anthony, cofounders of Seabridge Gold, examine the gold COMEX data and find it supports a bottom in the gold correction.

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Last week we thought that we had seen the bottom in the gold correction. More evidence of that came Monday with the release of Friday trading data from COMEX. Last week, as the gold price began to fall towards its 50 day moving average where corrections usually end or breakdowns can begin, COMEX Speculators blew an enormous number of contracts out the window.

At the close last Monday, the Open Interest on COMEX was 483,408 contracts, a total which had grown quickly as the gold price advanced from the December low of $1124. At the Friday close, the Open Interest had fallen to just 395,599 contracts, a reduction of an enormous 87,809 contracts or 18.1% in just four trading days. Clearly, a large number of players panicked and liquidated BUT the price never even touched the 50 dma at $1178.

What happened? Was it fear of this week’s Fed meeting (statement this Wednesday)? Or the employment report this coming Friday? We don’t know. But it was the fastest, most aggressive liquidation we have seen in years. And it did not break gold. We think that’s likely bullish.

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Chart provided by the authors.