Core Viewpoint - The Federal Reserve is expected to begin expanding its balance sheet again early next year, which may alleviate investor concerns regarding the significant borrowing needs of the U.S. economy [1] Group 1: Federal Reserve Actions - The Federal Reserve officially ended its three-year quantitative tightening program, with Chairman Powell indicating that the central bank may soon become a major buyer of U.S. Treasury bonds again [1] - Analysts predict that the Fed will start purchasing enough Treasury bonds to expand its balance sheet in the first quarter of next year, likely in January or by March at the latest [1] - Monthly net purchases of $35 billion in Treasury bonds are anticipated, which could lead to a monthly expansion of approximately $20 billion in the Fed's $6.6 trillion balance sheet [1] Group 2: Market Reactions - Market anxiety has eased as expectations grow that the Fed will end quantitative tightening, alongside signs of potential improvement in budget deficits [1] - The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond has decreased significantly from a peak of 4.8% in January to below 4.1%, driven by increasing expectations of Fed rate cuts [2] - The additional yield of 10-year U.S. Treasuries over interest rate swaps has halved since April, indicating that worst-case concerns about sovereign debt supply may have been exaggerated [2] Group 3: Yield Curve Dynamics - The easing of borrowing tensions is reflected in the flattening of the government bond yield curve, with the extra yield on 30-year Treasuries over 2-year bonds dropping from 1.3% in September to 1% [3] - Efforts by policymakers in the U.S., U.K., and Japan to shorten government bond issuance terms have also alleviated concerns about an oversupply of long-term government debt [3] Group 4: Broader Economic Context - The end of quantitative tightening by the Fed is seen as a response to signs of stress in short-term financing markets, reflecting banks' desire to hold more reserves [3] - The current situation does not indicate a return to aggressive quantitative easing, which involves purchasing large amounts of government debt to inject liquidity into the financial system [3] - Despite recent positive developments, concerns about the sustainability of U.S. fiscal deficits remain, with expectations that the debt-to-GDP ratio may exceed that of Italy later in the decade [4]

美债市场近期遭遇抛售，引发市场对美国政府债务的担忧。而在这一风波中， 对冲基金的"相对价值"交易策略(relative-value trades)被推上风口浪尖。 所谓的"相对价值"交易，通常旨在利用美国国债及其相关衍生品合约之间微小的价格差异，加以短期融资市场借入巨额资金，将微薄的利润转化为可观的回 报。 这些基金利用高杠杆，试图从美债及其衍生品之间的微小价格差异中获利， 如"基差交易"或"互换利差交易"，其持仓规模高达1万亿美元，杠杆率高达100 倍。 美债市场的流动性与对冲基金杠杆交易之间存在微妙平衡。根据美国证券交易委员会 (SEC) 的最新数据，对冲基金参与政府债务固定收益相对价值交易的规模 约为9040亿美元，这一数字在过去十年中几乎翻了一番。此外，对冲基金在3月中旬净卖空了1.14万亿美元的美债期货，关于基差交易本身的规模估计约为 8000亿美元，其对市场的影响依然巨大。 然而，高杠杆的使用意味着即使是小幅度的价格波动，也可能引发大规模的平仓，加剧市场波动。对于这个为美国政府融资、历史上充当全球金融安全避风港 并影响几乎所有其他证券定价的市场来说，是一个危险的发展。 4月8日一场疲软的美国国债拍 ...