High-yield debt hasn’t blown out relative to Treasuries. Regardless, the largest markets in the world are buckling under pressure.
You have to look outside the US and beyond high-yield corporate bonds to see the stress. Here are three cautionary data points to consider: European sovereign spreads, US bond market volatility, and the steep decline in investment-grade bonds.
When you weigh the evidence, it’s clear risks are rising for US markets.
Let’s look at the charts!
First, here's a look at European sovereign spreads:
At first glance, these spreads look similar to high-yield spreads. They’re chopping sideways at or near their peaks from the 2020 crash. Nothing alarming or unusual from the countries at the highest risk of default – Spain, Italy, or Portugal.
It’s a different story when it comes to the UK, as the spread between the UK-...
The market is enduring a volatile week, finishing out a chaotic month in what has been an unprecedented year.
Safe havens have offered no safety as cross-asset correlations have turned positive and balanced portfolios are enduring their worst year since the 1930’s.
This week, underwater explosions have ruptured gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, while a massive hurricane has crossed from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, leaving a trail of devastation in Cuba and Florida.
Stocks are now trading at their lowest level in two years and the British pound has sunk to its lowest level in two centuries.
Dismissing all of this as merely challenging seems trite. Acknowledging the difficulty of the environment helps chart a path for moving forward.
Just as we’ve been wondering if that was it for Warren Buffett and Occidental Petroleum $OXY, the largest insider buy on today's list is a Form 4 filing by Berkshire Hathaway $BRK.A.
Buffett revealed another purchase in OXY, as he continues to build his position in the energy stock.