Across the Curve

Federal Reserve Balance Sheet

Sunday, October 26th, 2008

Professor Hamilton at Econbrowser has written an article about the expansion of the Federal Reserve balance sheet which has no equal. If you have any question about what they are doing and how they are doing it, he tackles the topic in clear and understandable prose and makes very clear there ...

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Some Sunday Evening Links

Sunday, October 26th, 2008

The Financial Times with a story about the gloomy prospect for earnings for European corporations. And the FT with a story about a brief flirtation between Goldman and Citi. That would have been an awkwatd coupling! And the London Times with a feature on Professor Roubini. Geez! Even Kuwaiti banks have derivative troubles. From ...

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Closing Thoughts October 24th 2008

Friday, October 24th, 2008

Prices of Treasury coupon securities traversed a rocky road today and are finishing the day with mixed results. Across the curve benchmark issues registered their best levels as I was writing my opening piece at 600AM. At that time the stock markets were down limit and it appeared that those ...

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Corporate Bonds

Friday, October 24th, 2008

The corporate bond market as measured by the IG 11 experienced the worst of times and, to paraphrase Dickens, better times. The IG 11 opened 30 wider on a very wide quote of 233/243 and is closing 226/229.One cash salesman with whom I regularly converse said that he had observed ...

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Agency Spreads

Friday, October 24th, 2008

10/23 Thurs 10/24 Friday close asw 10am(chg) asw(chg) 2yr ...

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Miscellany

Friday, October 24th, 2008

The theme in theTreasury market this morning is curve steepening. When I wrote my opening piee at 600AM New York time the 2year/10 year spread was about 210 basis points. It is currrentlt about 216 basis points. There is some trading but for all the histrionics the level of activity is ...

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Restrained Carnage

Friday, October 24th, 2008

I thought that the damage in the early going would be worse than this. The fellows who tout the existence of the Plunge Protection team will no doubt see the invisible hand of that group at work. I do think it is interesting that the Euro is recovering a tad against ...

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Some Spreads……All Wider

Friday, October 24th, 2008

Two year sector swap spreads are wider by 6 basis points at 124. Five year sector spreads are wider by 9 basis points at 106 basis points. Ten year spreads are 5 basis points wider at 44 1/2 and bonds spreads are wider by a basis point but still traverse ...

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