Why borrowing costs for nearly everything are surging, and what it means for you
Violent moves in the bond market this week have hammered investors and renewed fears of a recession, as well as concerns about housing, banks and even the fiscal sustainability of the U.S. government.
At the center of the storm is the 10-year Treasury yield, one of the most influential numbers in finance. The yield, which represents borrowing costs for issuers of bonds, has climbed steadily in recent weeks and reached 4.8% on Tuesday, a level last seen just before the 2008 financial crisis.
The relentless rise in borrowing costs has blown past forecasters' predictions and has Wall Street casting about for explanations. While the Federal Reserve has been raising its benchmark rate for 18 months, that hasn't impacted longer-dated Treasurys like the 10-year until recently as investors believed rate cuts were likely coming in the near term.
That began to change in July with signs of economic strength defying expectations for a slowdown. It gained speed in recent weeks as Fed officials remained steadfast that interest rates will remain elevated. Some on Wall Street believe that part of the move is technical in nature, sparked by selling from a country or large institutions. Others are fixated on the spiraling U.S. deficit and political dysfunction. Still others are convinced that the Fed has intentionally caused the surge in yields to slow down a too-hot U.S. economy.
«The bond market is telling us that this higher cost of funding is going to be with us for a while,» Bob Michele, global head of fixed income for JPMorgan Chase's asset management division, said Tuesday in a Zoom interview. «It's going to stay there because that's where the Fed wants it. The Fed is slowing you, the consumer, down.»
Investors are fixated on the
Read more on cnbc.com
