Archive for April, 2008

Closing Commentary April 21 2008

Monday, April 21st, 2008

Prices of Treasury coupon securities posted bifurcated results today with most of the list showing small losses and the Long Bond manifesting modest gains. The benchmark 2 year note yield increased 3 basis points to 2.17 percent. The yield on the 5 year note also climbed 3 basis points and ...

A Mona Lisa Smile for the 21st Century

Monday, April 21st, 2008

http://seekingalpha.com/author/john-jansen

From the It Aint Over Till It’s Over Department

Monday, April 21st, 2008

Delinquencies on home equity lines of credit on the rise.

Corporate Bonds

Monday, April 21st, 2008

Secondary market corporate bond spreads are tighter by about a nickel. The market has a robust tone and there is little paper for sale. There has been a spate of issuance announcements from financial firms. Citibank is bringing a perpetual preferred deal and JPMorgan which brought a multi billion dollar perp ...

Mortgage Mania

Monday, April 21st, 2008

 FNMA 5 1/2s are about 8 ticks tighter to treasuries and 5 ticks better versus swaps. Foreign buyers continue to drive the trade but there is speculation that a domestic bank or the GSEs are large buyers.

Midmorning Musings

Monday, April 21st, 2008

 Treasury market trading opened weaker but the advent of some buying has pared the losses a bit. Supply is a bit of a bugaboo this week in Treasuries as the Treasury will auction $8 billion 5 year TIPS tomorrow. They will also announce brand new 2 year notes and 5 year ...

Some Monday Morning Links.

Monday, April 21st, 2008

From the FT, complete details on the Bank of England lending facility. From Marketwatch the details of the Bank of America earnings report. The CEO of Bank of America notes rather specifically that he has concerns regarding the health of the consumer. As should all lenders. If you are a political junkie ...

Opening Comments April 21 2008

Monday, April 21st, 2008

 Prices of Treasury coupon securities have registered mixed results in overseas trading. The yield on the 2 year note has declined by 2 basis points to 2.10 percent while the yield on the 5 year note is unchanged at 2.90 percent. Issues with maturities of 10 years or longer posted ...

Error

Friday, April 18th, 2008

In the previous post I noted that custody holdings of agency debt at the New York Federal Reserve had jumped $89 billion in the last five weeks. The economist I cited is an avid reader and reports I erred. The $89 billion is correct but it is split between $39billion ...

Midmorning Musings

Friday, April 18th, 2008

 Prices of Treasury coupon securities continue to erode and the Treasury curve continues to flatten as fear of financial Armageddon recedes. The yield on the 2 year note has climbed 13 basis points to 2.23 percent while the yield on the 5 year note has climbed 15 basis points to ...