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Zero rates are not walking through that door anytime soon, says JPMorgan's Bill Eigen
CNBC Television· 2025-07-25 11:02
Market & Economic Assessment - The Fed is in a difficult position, balancing inflation pressures with calls for rate cuts, while the economy grows between 2% and 3% [2][3] - Current market conditions, including high equity prices, low volatility, and tight credit spreads, are atypical for a rate-cutting cycle [3][4] - Speculative behavior is prevalent, with tight credit spreads making fixed income investments interest rate sensitive [5] - Fiscal policy is challenging, with $37 trillion in debt and a $2 trillion deficit, while the Fed maintains a $7 trillion balance sheet [7] - Inflationary pressures persist, particularly in construction costs and wages, making a return to zero rates unlikely [8] - The long end of the yield curve signals concerns about the US fiscal situation, as the 30-year Treasury yield is higher than when Fed funds were 51/8% [10][11] Investment Strategy & Risk - The administration's policies favor risk assets, but this may not be favorable for fixed income [6][24][27] - Investors should be cautious about taking on excessive risk in fixed income portfolios, particularly through high yield credit at tight spreads [6][15] - Private credit funds raise concerns, especially the push to include illiquid assets in liquid investment vehicles, echoing concerns from 2007 [15][16][18] - Meme stock activity indicates that investors are unafraid, with one penny stock accounting for 15% of stock exchange volume [20][21] - While the overall risk environment is favorable, it is susceptible to shocks, requiring careful monitoring and liquidity [26][27][25]
GOP bill is largely priced into U.S. Treasurys, says JPMorgan's Priya Misra
CNBC Television· 2025-07-09 12:58
Treasury Market & Fiscal Policy - The market has largely priced in the impact of the "one big beautiful bill" (tax bill) [2][3] - Tariff revenues are projected to offset a significant portion of the tax bill's cost, with CBO projecting $28 trillion in tariff revenues versus the tax bill's $32 trillion cost [3] - The yield curve has steepened, indicating the market is pricing in an unsustainable deficit trajectory [4] - The market is pricing in some base level of tariffs, potentially 10% on the world and 30% on China or transshipment [7] Economic Outlook & Fed Policy - The underlying economy is slowing but remains above recession levels, leading to expectations of a soft landing [4][5] - Inflation has come in weaker in recent months, leading the market to price in Fed rate cuts, approximately 100 to 120 basis points [5][6] - The market anticipates "good news rate cuts" from the Fed due to the slowing economy and potential for one-time price shocks from tariffs [6] - A risk scenario involves sectoral tariffs causing mini humps or bumps in inflation, which the Fed is closely monitoring [9][10] Fixed Income Investment Strategy - In a soft landing scenario with growth around 1% to 15% and inflation slightly higher, a 4% to 45% tenure seems fair [12] - High-quality fixed income offers attractive yields around 6% to 65%, while high-quality high yield provides around 7% [12] - Fixed income looks attractive due to the potential for diversification and the likelihood of the Fed cutting rates further if the economy slows down [13]
