The yield on the 10-year note ended August 11, 2023, at 4.16%, the two-year note ended at 4.89%, and the 30-year at 4.24%.
Since World War II, the US Dollar (USD) has served as the world’s preeminent ‘reserve currency’ – the means of exchange for most of the rest of the world to do business.
We maintain a neutral-duration posture overall. We prefer an up-in-quality bias and have become increasingly selective in non-investment grades.
Geopolitics is driving new interest in industrial policy.
A cruder version of the above phrase, “Mess Around and Find Out”, has gained popularity in the American vocabulary. Politicians keep messing around with the creditworthiness of the nation’s sovereign debt. On August 1st, they found out.
There is a rhythm to the markets, and market cycle lows support bull market recoveries. Recently, Ed Yardeni made a bold prediction that the S&P 500 index could hit a high of 5400 in 2024.
Given the current economic backdrop, where can investment opportunities be found, particularly within the fixed income asset class? Head of Franklin Templeton Institute Stephen Dover shares his key takeaways from a panel discussion that he moderated with fixed income experts within the company.
For the years following the Lehman crisis, the Fed put was the norm. Exceptionally loose monetary policy ensured risk assets had a safety net. But central banks were unable to rehabilitate the real economy while governments kept their belts tight.
Consumer spending remains the lifeblood of the economy accounting for nearly two-thirds of economic activity.
Will the economy roll into a formal recession, or is a recovery underway? It's a close call.
Andy Rothman provides his assessment of the Biden Administration’s executive order on certain investments in China.
Ten stocks have dominated US equity market gains for most of this year. But the rest of the market may be waking up. That’s good news for active managers who seek to tap diversified sources of long-term returns that can withstand challenging macroeconomic conditions.
Chuck Carnevale, a.k.a. Mr. Valuation gives an update on Medical Properties Trust (MPW) in this video.
Today we’ll continue reviewing Neil Howe’s magisterial new book, The Fourth Turning Is Here, focusing on the Millennial Generation’s important role in the coming crisis. Then we’ll think about what the crisis may look like. Finally—because I always try to look on the bright side—we’ll consider what Neil expects in the “First Turning” that will follow.
A team of scientists claimed to have created a breakthrough material that could superconduct electricity at room temperatures and ambient pressure. But then people started trying to replicate the experiment.
VettaFi head of research Todd Rosenbluth appeared on Yahoo! Finance to discuss ETFs with unexpected demand — including AI-focused ETFs.
With the second half of 2023 underway, how are the macro and market landscapes unfolding?
David Dali, Head of Portfolio Strategy, provides his 12-month outlook for global equity markets.
For the better part of the last century, the largest companies in the world were those that produced physical property – traditional transportation machines, the energy that powered them, or the capital that financed them.
Franklin Templeton’s Head of Digital Asset & Investor Advisory Services Sandy Kaul has a wealth of experience in the financial industry and a vision for the future in the digital asset space. She finds the trend toward democratizing new investment frontiers exciting. Learn more about Sandy in this Q&A.
For experienced and novice investors, there are myriad complexities associated with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings and scoring.
For this edition of Bull vs. Bear, Karrie Gordon and Nick Peters-Golden discuss the case for trading in the old 60/40 portfolio for an alts augmented 50/30/20 portfolio.
Recession? Soft Landing? Getting a read on where the US economy is headed hasn’t been easy.
What might the sensational superstar Taylor Swift have in common with exchange-traded funds? David Mann, our Head of ETF Product and Capital Markets, lightheartedly examines the different eras of the ETF industry—drawing parallels to Swift’s memorable eras as a musician.
Effective tax planning means thinking about how tax rates might change.
Once again, markets are taking the elevator while economic data takes the stairs.
Broader domestic equity benchmarks turned in impressive showings through the first seven months of the year. A significant portion of that bullishness comes thanks to large- and mega-cap growth stocks.
I thought I’d lead with some really impressive statistics. I just finished reading our latest ADV Part 2 (the SEC disclosure document provided annually to clients) describing the firm.
Each year, I head to the woods of Maine for an event called “Camp Kotok.” Over the coming week or so, I’ll be sharing some videos of conversations I had with attendees while there (and also pointing to coverage from other attendees, as well).
Investors should be aware of potential real-time market exposure risks when implementing large changes to their portfolios.
After a rush among issuers to file for spot bitcoin ETFs, followed shortly by a rush to file for ether futures ETFs, the environment for crypto-related ETFs looks significantly different from early 2023 when several crypto ETFs announced closures.
The potential for a Fed pause presents an opportunity for investors to consider adding duration back into their portfolios.
Public and private projects are fueling a new building boom.
Flagging office occupancy rates have municipal bond investors concerned. But US cities have more than one card to play in the revenue game.
In this video, Chuck Carnevale, Co-founder of FAST Graphs, the Fundamentals Analyzer Software Tool will analyze the performance and valuation of PayPal (PYPL) stock.
This article takes a look at a long-term perspective on Treasury yields as of the July 31, 2023 close. The chart below shows the 10-year constant-maturity yield since 1962 along with the Fed funds rate (FFR) and inflation.
Doug Drabik discusses fixed income market conditions and offers insight for bond investors.
Do high-yield bonds still make sense for income investors at this stage of the credit cycle? We think so.
The common currency has not led to common outcomes.
We see compelling value in high-quality, liquid fixed income assets that may offer potential resiliency if the economy weakens.
After an unprecedented pause that started in March 2020, student loan repayments will finally resume in October 2023.
We see emerging markets better withstanding volatility and benefiting as supply chains rewire. We switch our EM debt preference to hard currency from local.
It’s time for our annual August report, “Charts for the Beach.” Each year we highlight five of our favorite charts we think consensus is currently overlooking. So, head for the beach, but be safe and heed the warning about the critical lifeguard shortages. Yet another sign the labor markets are historically tight!
Investors are taking fright at commercial real estate risks in Sweden. But we think the situation is less threatening than feared.
What would you do if you won the Mega Millions? It’s now up to a record $1.55 billion! We would start a not-for-profit to educate people not to play the lottery.
Such is the latest rationalization to support the “bull market” narrative.
July was an impressive asset-gathering month for ETFs. Much of the heavy lifting was done by the industry’s largest ETFs.
Investors often conclude that they would have performed better by simply investing in the S&P 500 index rather than a well-diversified portfolio.
July was another good month for stocks across the board. The U.S. indices were up in the low single digits, while international markets also did well. Riskier investments like the Nasdaq and emerging markets did best.
It’s no secret that we are currently in a high interest-rate environment. The Federal Funds rate, the benchmark rate in the U.S. set by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), currently sits between the range of 5.00% and 5.25%.
