Tag Archives: quigley’s corner

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Giving Credit When Due- IWD & Women on Wall Street

Credit Markets Are More Than Just Selling Credit; Includes Giving Credit When Due: to The Women on Wall Street!

MarketsMuse Fixed Income Curator Sara Abel spotlighted a superb salute to one of the top Women on Wall Street in connection with a bond issuance brought yesterday by Citigroup which was ‘dedicated to’ International Women’s Day (IWD). Here’s the excerpt of the article, courtesy of daily debt market commentary published by minority broker-dealer Mischler Financial Group under the banner “Quigley’s Corner” and authored by Managing Director & Head of Fixed Income Syndicate Ron Quigley..

Quigley’s Corner 03.13.17  Stella Won’t Stop The Show!; Saluting Women on Wall Street

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Ron Quigley, Mgn.Dir. Mischler Financial Group

Today, our good friends at Citibank N.A. issued a 2yr FXD/FRN in honor of International Women’s Day (“IWD”), which was last Wednesday, March 8th. IWD is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women among others. So, today it was a privilege and an honor to step aside and watch as Team Citi once again showed why they have been and continue to be a leading force for diversity in our IG dollar DCM.  Congratulations to the continued collective team efforts of everyone at Team Citi! The nation’s oldest Service Disabled Veteran broker dealer sends its five-star salute to each of you and as well as to all the women in our world and lives. The seven featured Women-Owned diversity broker dealer/investment banks on today’s Citibank N.A. “IWD” deal were:

  • L. King & Associates
  • CAPIS Institutional Services, Inc.
  • Lebenthal & Company LLC.
  • MFR Securities, Inc.
  • Siebert, Cisneros Shank & Cop., L.L.C.
  • Telsey Advisory Group
  • Tigress Financial Partners

Why would the financial industry’s oldest (and arguably largest) minority broker-dealer owned/operated by Service-Disabled Veterans  tout competing minority broker-dealers?  Well, I’d ask “why wouldn’t we?!”  Firstly, its the right thing to do! Second, it provides us the opportunity to showcase one of the global capital market’s leading and cutting edge D&I initiatives, while tipping our hat to the leading women in our diversity space.  So, congratulations for the glass ceilings raised and doors that Citigroup has helped open at their own financial institution through their own incredible procurement initiatives, as well as externally for all these leading women-owned firms. We extend a hardy congratulations to the respective women of D&I in our financial services industry. All for one, and one for all!

So, where do all these ideas originate?  A good place to start looking is from the top down at Citigroup.  Today I would suggest looking first in the office of one Suni Harford….

Who is Suni Harford?

suni-harford-citigroup
Suni Harford, Citigroup

Suni Harford, Citigroup

Suni Harford is a Managing Director and Citigroup’s Regional Head of Markets for North America. In this capacity, Suni oversees the North American sales, trading and origination businesses of Citi’s securities and banking franchise. Citi maintains a premier position across all of its fixed income, currency, equity and commodities offerings. In addition to her current responsibilities, Suni is a member of Citi’s Pension Plan Investment Committee, and a Director on the Board of Citibank Canada. Suni is also the co-head of Citigroup’s global women’s initiative, Citi Women.

Prior to her current assignment, Suni was Citi’s Global Head of Fixed Income research, where she was responsible for Citigroup’s credit analytics, research strategy and fixed income quantitative analytics efforts globally. Suni also had oversight of Citi’s premier fixed-income analytics platform, The Yield Book. From 1995-2004, Suni served as the co-head of Citi’s Fixed Income Capital Markets origination business, where she managed relationships with financial institutions.

Not that she doesn’t have enough on her plate, Suni also serves on the Board of Directors of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the Board of Directors of The Forte Foundation, a national, non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of women leaders in business, the Board of the Friends of Hudson River Park, and the Board of Taproot Foundation, a national organization engaged in skills-based volunteerism and pro-bono philanthropy. Suni is also passionate about awareness and support for our veteran community, and she is involved in many organizations in this regard. In addition to serving on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Veteran’s Employment Advisory Council, Suni has worked with First Lady Michele Obama’s Joining Forces initiative. Suni also represents Citi as a founding member of Veterans on Wall Street, a coalition of major financial services firms established in 2010 to engage the broader industry in efforts to support our transitioning veterans. Having helped formalize Citi’s very successful Veterans Initiative, CitiSalutes, in 2009, Suni remains the senior business sponsor for the initiative.

For those not already aware of her pedigree, Suni joined Salomon Brothers in January 1993, after five years with Merrill Lynch & Co. where she was a Vice President in Investment Banking. Suni joined Merrill upon graduation from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, where she received her M.B.A. Suni received her Bachelor of Science degree from Denison University, where she majored in physics and math.

Pretty impressive stuff right there folks. Now you know why Suni Harford was named one of  2016’s Top 20 Most Powerful Women on Wall Street!

So, in light of International Women’s Day and today’s honorable $2b Citibank N.A. “IWD” two-part new issue a “thank you”– not only to Suni, but to all the women in our investment grade debt capital markets and in our lives in addition to those who help perpetuate a more inclusive financial services industry.

Before I conclude, a bit of Women-on-Wall Street trivia for you from the guy-in-the-corner’s personal treasure trove –

to continue reading, please visit the 13 March edition of Quigley’s Corner investment grade corporate debt commentary via this link

 

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Avalanche of Investment Grade Corporate Debt Deals

Below extract is courtesy of May 09 edition of daily debt capital market commentary and focus on investment grade corporate debt deals courtesy of boutique investment bank Mischler Financial Group, the financial industry’s oldest minority broker-dealer owned and operated by Service-Disabled Veterans. MarketsMuse editorial team adds: “Make no mistake, the phrase ‘service-disabled’ applies to members of the military injured in the line of duty and no longer certified for combat situations. The heroes who have earned “SDV certification” are highly-trained, uniquely capable and often, thanks to the skills learned while serving in the U.S. military, are more qualified than most to meet and exceed job requirements across every facet of any business setting.

Today makes it clear why I featured “The Most Interesting Man in the World” in last Friday’s “QC” saying, “EMBRACE NEXT WEEK’S IG ISSUANCE

ron quigley, mischler financial, marketsmuse
Ron Quigley, Mgn.Dir. Mischler Financial Group

AVALANCHE!” Just look at today’s numbers: 10 IG Corporate issuers priced 25 tranches between them totaling $25.10bn.  SSA featured 1 issuer and 1 tranche for $500mm bringing today’s all-in IG day total to a monolithic 11 issuers, 26 tranches and $25.6bn.

Here’s where today stands:

 

The 7th highest IG dollar new issue volume day of all-time.

The 2nd busiest day of 2016 for the same.

The 3rd highest number of tranches priced in history.

New Issues Priced Today’s recap of visitors to our IG dollar Corporate and SSA DCM:For ratings I use the better two of Moody’s, S&P or Fitch.IG

Issuer Ratings Coupon Maturity Size IPTs GUIDANCE LAUNCH PRICED LEADS
AbbVie Inc. Baa2/A- 2.30% 5/14/2021 1,800 +135a +120a (+/-5) +115 +115 BAML/BARC/DB/JPM
AbbVie Inc. Baa2/A- 2.85% 5/14/2023 1,000 +150a +140a (+/-5) +135 +135 BAML/BARC/DB/JPM
AbbVie Inc. Baa2/A- 3.20% 5/14/2026 2,000 +165a +155a (+/-5) +150 +150 BAML/BARC/DB/JPM
AbbVie Inc. Baa2/A- 4.30% 5/14/2036 1,000 +195a +180a (+/-5) +175 +175 BAML/BARC/DB/JPM
AbbVie Inc. Baa2/A- 4.45% 5/14/2046 2,000 +210a +195a (+/-5) +190 +190 BAML/BARC/DB/JPM
Banco de Bogota Ba2/BBB 6.25% 5/12/2026 600 mid 6.00%a 6.50%a (+/-12.5) 6.50% +474.8 CS/JPM/HSBC
Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC A3/A 3.90% 8/01/2046 750 +155a +135a (+/-2) +133 +133 CITI/GS/JPM
Chevron Corp. Aa2/AA- FRN 5/16/2018 850 3mL+50a 3mL+50 the # 3mL+50 3mL+50 BAML/JPM/WFS
Chevron Corp. Aa2/AA- 1.561% 5/16/2019 1,350 +70a +70 the # +70 +70 BAML/JPM/WFS
Chevron Corp. Aa2/AA- FRN 5/16/2021 250 3mL+equiv 3mL+equiv 3mL+95 3mL+95 BAML/JPM/WFS
Chevron Corp. Aa2/AA- 2.10% 5/16/2021 1,350 +90a +90 the # +90 +90 BAML/JPM/WFS
Chevron Corp. Aa2/AA- 2.566% 5/16/2023 750 +105a +105 the # +105 +105 BAML/JPM/WFS
Chevron Corp. Aa2/AA- 2.954% 5/16/2026 2,250 +120a +120 the # +120 +120 BAML/JPM/WFS
Deutsche Bank Baa1/BBB+ FRN 5/10/2019 500 3mL+equiv 3mL+equiv 3mL+191 3mL+191 DB-sole
Deutsche Bank Baa1/BBB+ 2.85% 5/10/2019 1,600 +212.5a +200 the # +200 +200 DB-sole
Deutsche Bank Baa1/BBB+ 3.375% 5/12/2021 1,500 +237.5a +225 the # +225 +225 DB-sole
Duke Energy Indiana LLC Aa3/A 3.75% 5/12/2046 500 +130a +115a (+/-3) +115 +115 CS/GS/MIZ/USB
GATX Corp. Baa2/BBB 5.625% 50NC5 150 5.75%a RG: 5.625%a
+5.75%a
5.625% $25 par BAML/MS
Waste Management Baa2/A- 2.40% 5/15/2023 500 +110a N/A +90 +90 BAML/CITI/MIZ
Westpac Banking Corp. Aa2/AA- FRN 5/13/2019 250 3mL+equiv 3mL+equiv 3mL+71 3mL+71 BAML/CITI/GS/JPM
Westpac Banking Corp. Aa2/AA- 1.65% 5/13/2019 750 +95a +85a (+/-5) +80 +80 BAML/CITI/GS/JPM
Westpac Banking Corp. Aa2/AA- FRN 5/13/2021 250 3mL+equiv 3mL+equiv 3mL+100 3mL+100 BAML/CITI/GS/JPM
Westpac Banking Corp. Aa2/AA- 2.10% 5/13/2021 1,250 +110a +100a (+/-5) +95 +95 BAML/CITI/GS/JPM
Westpac Banking Corp. Aa2/AA- 2.85% 5/13/2026 1,500 +137.5 +120a (+/-5) +115 +115 BAML/CITI/GS/JPM
WW Grainger Inc. A2/AA- 3.75% 5/16/2046 400 +140a +120a (+/-3) +117 +117 HSBC/MS/WFS

         

For the entire edition of Quigley’s Corner, including a full analysis of the day’s debt capital market activity, please click here  

SSA

Issuer Ratings Coupon Maturity Size IPTs GUIDANCE LAUNCH PRICED LEADS
Mubadala Dev. Co. PJSC Aa2/AA 2.75% 5/11/2023 500 MS+170 MS+150 MS+150 +133.8 BAML/BNPP/FGB/JPM/MUFG/SG

 

 

Investors Take a Big Bite Of Apple Inc Debt Issuance-And Love It; MarketsMuse

MarketsMuse Fixed Income update profiles Apple Inc latest bond issuance courtesy of late afternoon desk notes distributed to institutional clients of deal co-manager Mischler Financial Group, the financial industry’s oldest and arguably largest boutique Finra member firm that is owned and operated by Service-Disabled Veterans. MarketsMuse Editors are compelled to add at the outset: The term “Service-Disabled” is a terrible misnomer that the US Dept of Defense should consider changing.

The vast majority of these veterans are ‘disabled’ only within the construct of the certification that is awarded to members of the military who were injured in the line of duty and since relieved from serving in active duty roles. Without discounting the sacrifices that so many veterans have made while serving in our military, sacrifices that have permanently altered their lives and those of their families consequent to truly debilitating injuries sustained, thousands of veterans who were injured in one way or another and who have since returned to the workforce have proven time and again that they are not only fully-able, but they are 110% “mission capable” and “mission ready” whenever provided the opportunity to demonstrate their trained skills and talents within private sector roles.

Moreover, SDVs can be found in leadership roles across the Fortune landscape, including CEO, CFO and corporate treasury positions at the world’s leading companies. We make note of this because the world’s most recognized company, Apple Inc. made the same note of this when appointing Mischler Financial to serve within the ranks of today’s cast of underwriters who helped bring this $8 billion, multi-tranche bond deal to the institutional investor marketplace. Without further ado, below is a short extract from Mischler’s nightly edition of debt capital market commentary, “Quigley’s Corner”

Ron Quigley, Mischler Financial
Ron Quigley, Mischler Financial

Two mega deals hit the tapes early this morning led by an $8b 7-part from Apple Inc. and a $10b 6-part from Shell International Finance.  There were a total of 8 IG Corporate issuers that tapped the dollar DCM to price 20 tranches totaling $21.525b bringing the WTD total to more than 14% more than the syndicate midpoint forecast or $45.125b vs. $39.34b.  Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Sweden also added $2.25b from the SSA space with a new 3-year bringing the all-in IG day totals to 9 issuers, 21 tranches and $23.775b.

New Record: Quickest In History to the Half Trillion Dollar Mark!

Today marks a landmark in the history of IG issuance – It is the earliest time in any year that we reached the $500 billion issuance mark.  YTD IG Corporate-only volume now stands at $510.797 billion! Investor appetite for the stability of higher rated credits and especially those from Corporate America is beyond robust. Congratulations to Apple for their help in putting us on top with this new and very impressive record!  Well-timed and well-priced no doubt!  YTD all-in IG issuance (Corporates plus SSA) is now $634.407 billion.  Not too shabby folks!

Investor’s Bite the Apple – And Like It Alot! A Look at Today’s 6-Part Demand

Apple Final Book Sizes Bid-to-Cover Rate Final Pricing Currently Trading
2yr FRN 590m 2.36x 3mL+5 issue bid
2yr FXD 2600m 3.47x +30 30/28
5yr FRN 840m 1.68x 3mL+30 $100.05/
5yr FXD 2900m 2.32x +45 44/42
7yr FXD 2900m 2.32x +75 75/73
10yr FXD 5850m 2.925x +100 99/97
30yr FXD 5300m 2.65x +140 141/139

A redacted version of Quigley’s Corner, including a synopsis of the day’s investment grade corporate bond market activity is available via Mischler Financial Group’s website.

Fixed Income Fix: Calculating Credit Spreads

MarketsMuse fixed income fix is courtesy of extract from Mischler Financial Group Mar 17 desk notes aka “Quigley’s Corner”  and authored by Ron Quigley, Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income Syndicate for this boutique brokerdealer owned and operated by Service-Disabled Veterans and recipient of Wall Street Letter’s 2015 Award for Best Research/Broker Dealer.

Ron Quigley Mischler Financial
Ron Quigley
Mischler Financial

IG Primary Market Talking Points – M&A Leads The Way re Debt Market Issuance; Deep Dive Into Credit Spreads– An Interesting Read Folks

  • M&A represented 7 out of 10 tranches today, and 80.60% of today’s IG new issue volume with the well telegraphed “biggie” being the Merck KGaA deal.  The German pharma giant issued a $4 billion five-part thru its EMD Finance LLC. Moody’s “Baa1” rating followed the agency’s one-notch December downgrade of Merck KGaA.  Leverage from Merck’s acquisition will increase to 4.5x from 1.8x.  Hence, order books closed at a very modest $6.1 billion or 1.52-times oversubscribed. Market participants anticipated much stronger demand for this top pharma-linked name. It was the credit story that saw demand slip and a complete absence of spread compression throughout price discovery.
  • APT Pipelines issued a two-part $1.4 billion 10s/20s transaction today, proceeds of which will be used to partly fund the Queensland Curtis LNG Pipeline acquisition. The deal was re-launched and increased to $1.1 billion from $1 billion, but also illustrated another M&A deal that offered no compression at all from IPTs to the launch.
  • Campbell’s Soup also issued today following a 32-month absence from the DCM.  Today’s deal carried lower Moody’s ratings than their prior transaction due to softer sales in the Company’s soups and beverages units.  The agency said ratings could be further pressured in the near future in part due to a more challenging operating environment coupled with potential acquisitions and share repurchases.  The final books on Campbell were $375mm or 1.25x bid-to-cover……..for an issuer that hadn’t tapped the DCM in over two and a half years!  Again, a credit story as opposed to overall market mechanics.
  • The reason for the aforementioned deal color is because investors chimed in today that some deals seemed to be struggling or not quite meeting with the demand that many market participants anticipated.  There are indeed definite signs of indigestion given the back-to-back record $50bn weeks of new product we just came out of.
  • Furthermore, taking a look at last Friday’s secondary trading performance of last week’s IG and SSA new issuance, of the 79 deals that priced, only 39 (49%) tightened versus new issue pricing while 26 or 33% widened and 14 (18%) were flat.
  • A word about spreads – S&P Global Fixed Income Research was unchanged.  A ha!  What gives here readers?  Great question and here’s the answer:  Despite the widening across all four major IG asset classes and 16 of the 19 major industries, S&P’s method for computing spreads is a composite method as opposed to an index so, each series actually runs independently as opposed to the smaller parts being “components” of the “aggregate.”  Therefore with respect to movements in the “AAA”, “AA”, “A” and “BBB” or industry spreads that tend to move in tandem with an investment-grade spread, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the case – it’s all a matter of how the math works out that particular day.  So, while many saw IG Corporate spreads push out 1bp, a widely used S&P Index was flat creating the false expectation of a relatively neutral market.
  • The average spread compression across today’s 10 IG Corporate-only new issues was 3.90 bps from IPTs to the launch.  That’s a 10.23 bps swing from last week’s average 14.13 bps compression across 72 IG Corporate issuers and that’s thanks to the two large M&A related transactions that priced in today’s session.

What’s the net conclusion of all this techno fodder?  Is it a question of market indigestion, or is it more the individual credit stories today?  I believe despite, some indigestion, it IS the latter.

So, it’s business as usual.  This week will be very busy as anticipated and today’s several isolated “story” new issues combined with some technical explanations of spread action should serve to extinguish any concern!  This is after all a financial “No Spin Zone!”  I know….I know….. It’s much more fun when I write about Vlad-the-Terrible, but I gotta cover my bases readers!

For the entire commentary courtesy of Mischler Financial Group, please click here

Rate Outlook: This Fixed Income Expert Says: “Lower For Longer”

MarketsMuse update courtesy of debt capital markets desk notes distributed to clients of boutique brokerdealer Mischler Financial under the banner “Quigley’s Corner”. Mischler Financial, the financial industry’s oldest and largest minority firm owned/operated by Service-Disabled Veterans received the 2015 Wall Street Letter Award for Best Research/BrokerDealer.

Ron Quigley, Mischler Financial Group
Ron Quigley, Mischler Financial Group

Well, it’s finally Friday and every Friday is a Good Friday!  So, let’s take a look back at the amazing week the investment grade corporate debt market has just concluded.

  • This week was the second busiest in history for all-in IG volume (Corps+SSA) at $65.03b.
  • It is now the fourth busiest all-time as measured by the number of individual tranches priced for all-in IG Corporate plus SSA issues with 63tranches priced.
  • In terms of IG Corporate only supply the week’s  $54.03bn ranks 5th all-time in that category.
  • Market tone remains firm with CDX IG23 at a new low this morning of 60.12.
  • The DOW and S&P are hovering around all-times highs both set this past Monday.
  • Deals are performing well, NICs remain skimpy averaging 3.16 bps across this week’s 59 IG Corporate-only prints and demand is very strong with those 59 issues averaging a 3.55x bid-to-cover rate.
  • The U.S. NFP number was upbeat blowing by estimates or 295k vs. 235k and the EU will be purchasing assets launching EU QE as early as Monday’s session.
  • The average spread daily compression across today’s 59 IG Corporate-only new pricings was 16.28 bps from IPTs to the launch.
  • Spreads across the 4 IG asset classes are an average 21.00 bps wider versus their post-Crisis lows and versus 23.50 last Friday or 2.50 bps tighter on the week!
  • Spreads across the 19 major industry sectors are an average 25.32 bps wider versus their post-Crisis lows and versus 28.21 bps last Friday or 2.89 bps tighter!
  • BAML’s IG Master Index was unchanged at +131 versus yesterday but 6 bps tighter versus last Friday’s +137 although rebalancing took place thanks to Petrobras being dropped due its high yield rating.
  • Standard & Poor’s Global Fixed Income Research was at +171 versus +173 one week ago or 2 bps tighter.
  • Taking a look at the secondary trading performance of this week’s IG and SSA new issues, of the 63 deals that printed, 51 tightened versus NIP for a 81.00% improvement rate while only 4 widened (6.50%), 7 were trading flat (11.00%) and 1 was not available (1.50%).

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And The Winner of “World’s Fastest Growing Asset Class” Is…

Below is courtesy of Feb 23 commentary from “Quigley’s Corner”, aka debt capital market observations from Mischler Financial Group’s Head of Fixed Income Syndicate, Ron Quigley. Mischler Financial Group is also an award winner; a panel of industry judges assembled by financial industry publication Wall Street Letter voted to award the firm “WSL 2015 Award for Best Research/BrokerDealer.”

The Big Four Central Banks as the World’s Fastest Growing Asset Class

Ron Quigley, Mischler Financial Group
Ron Quigley, Mischler Financial Group

I had a wonderful conversation over dinner this weekend with a highly intellectual and personable Russian player in our markets.  We discussed Greece and the additional overtime round of “kick-the-can” that postpones pain by four more months.  But what seemed even more compelling was the notion of the Big Four Central Banks as the world’s fastest growing “asset class.”  (The Fed, the ECB, BOJ and PBoC).  Deutsche Bank illustrated in a recent research piece, the staggering numbers of Big Four Central Bank purchases.  The Central Banks have clearly become an asset class all its own.  It’s right up there the with cumulative total of U.S. pension funds!  Digest that for a second readers!  As my friend wrote to me: Continue reading

Fixed Income Guru Says This About Interest Rate Outlook-

ron quigley
Ron Quigley, Mischler Financial Group

MarketsMuse fixed income fix for Feb 5 is courtesy of Industry Veteran and debt capital markets guru Ron Quigley, Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income Syndicate for Mischler Financial Group, the sell-side’s first and foremost investment bank/institutional brokerage boutique that is owned and operated by service-disabled veterans.  Mr. Quigley is also the author of “Quigley’s Corner”, a daily debt capital market commentary distributed to 1000+ Fortune treasurers, investment managers and public plan sponsors.  Mischler Financial Group is the winner of the 5th Annual Wall Street Letter Award for “Best Broker-Dealer/Research”

The Guy-in-the-Corner’s Take on Interest Rates (Feb 4 Quigley’s Corner)

So, I was asked by a Senior Managing Editor of an anonymous multi-billion dollar global financial news operation for my thoughts on interest rates. When I began my response to him, it just seemed to continue as there are so many factors that influence that discussion. My response turned out to be a feature unto itself so without further ado, I thought I’d feature it in today’s “QC.”

As concerns your question about how recent jumbo deals (think “Apple”) have raised speculation of interest rates rising, there is a POV out there claiming issuers are quick to print in anticipation of higher rate action. I, however, lean the other way…….FAR the other way and here’s why:

I have always been a proponent of “lower-for-longer”. Yellen added language in her last minutes flagging the EU as a potential impact on keeping U.S. rates lower. In the prior minutes, she didn’t mention the EU at all (which I thought was egregious not to at least mention the worst and most impactful economic story on our planet).

o On any given day a slew of news would be headliners in their own right. Aside from MENA unrest and the dramatic ISIS killings and impact in the world’s most sensitive hotbed – MENA – there are myriad factors that can all impact our rate environment:

o The Swiss National Bank’s action to remove its cap with the euro is a red flag or bad sign to the markets. It means the Swiss (unknown for surprises and bastions of stability) do not like what they see in on the horizon for for the EU. Did someone say “currency wars?” Remember history and NEVER forget it. We are dealing with severe currency volatility between the USD, EURO, YEN et al. These are reminders of the economic dislocation circa the 1930s……and we know what that led to. Continue reading

US Interest Rates: Lower For Longer

Below excerpts courtesy of “Quigley’s Corner”, a daily summary of debt capital market activity from Mischler Financial Group’s Ron Quigley

On the “Backpedal”, “Reverse”, “Renege”, “U-Turn”, “About-Face”…………and the FED

The week’s biggest data point belongs to the release of today’s FOMC Minutes. Here are the major talking points:

o Several Fed officials said “forecasts overstated the pace of rate increases.”
o The FOMC minutes did not mention a “rate rise six months after the end of QE.”
o Most FOMC participants saw inflation rising to the 2% Fed goal.
o Minutes revealed “slack” persisting in the Labor market and a gradual decline in unemployment.
o A continued housing recovery was sighted..
o Several members identified trends that pose financial stability risks.

So, what’s it all mean? Great question, simple answer:

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