Core Viewpoint - The resurgence of carry trades among emerging market investors is driven by expectations of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next month, leading to a weaker dollar and increased interest in high-yield currencies [1] Group 1: Market Dynamics - Asset management firms such as Neuberger Berman and Aberdeen Group are increasing their positions in currencies from countries like Brazil, South Africa, and Egypt [1] - The weakening dollar and reduced volatility have created a favorable environment for carry trade strategies [1] - Earlier this year, these trades recorded double-digit returns, but a rebound in the dollar in July caused a temporary halt [1] Group 2: Economic Indicators - Recent poor U.S. employment data has strengthened market expectations that policymakers will have to cut rates next month to avoid an economic recession, reviving interest in arbitrage trading [1] - Institutions like DoubleLine and UBS have recently joined the bearish dollar camp, indicating a renewed narrative of dollar weakness [1] Group 3: Investment Preferences - Neuberger Berman's co-head of emerging market debt, Urquieta, expressed a limited likelihood of a significant dollar rebound, while noting that global economic growth remains relatively stable [1] - Urquieta favors carry trades in South Africa, Turkey, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, and South Korea [1]

Core Viewpoint - After the reduction of tariffs, the average effective tariff in the U.S. has decreased from over 20% to 12%, leading to a decrease in inflation and stagflation risks. Consequently, Bank of America (BofA) maintains its interest rate forecasts for 2025 unchanged [1] Interest Rate Predictions - BofA forecasts the 2-year Treasury yield at 3.75%, the 10-year yield at 4.5%, and the 30-year yield at 4.9% by the end of 2025 [1] Interest Rate Curve Strategy - The strategy is adjusted to recommend a "flattening" trade between December 2025 and December 2026, with a target shift from -34 basis points to -70 basis points. This is based on the reduced likelihood of rate cuts in 2025, expected further decline in inflation in 2026, and potential divergence in strategies under new Federal Reserve leadership [2] Duration Positioning - BofA maintains a slightly positive bias towards mid-duration (5-year) bonds, suggesting gradual accumulation of longer-duration positions as the market has previously overestimated recession risks and underestimated hard data support. The 10-year Treasury yield is expected to stabilize in the range of 4.5% to 4.75% [3] Spread Outlook - The short-term outlook for spreads is neutral, while the long-term view is bearish on the 30-year spread due to fiscal deficits and supply pressures in U.S. Treasuries. The short-end (2-5 year) spreads remain neutral to slightly positive due to stable short-term financing conditions [4] Inflation Trading Strategy - The strategy is neutral on inflation trades, closing short positions on 1-year inflation while retaining long positions on 2-year and 3-year inflation, anticipating mid-term inflation to have upward potential, particularly relative to the Eurozone [5] Volatility Strategy - The volatility strategy leans towards short-term bullish and long-term conditional steepening, recommending a 6-month "costless" 2s10s lower bound volatility trade and a long-term "bear steepening" combination based on the 5s30s rate differential to address market repricing risks [5]