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Tech IPOs, stocks strong despite Israel–Iran: Market Takeaways
Tech IPOs, stocks strong despite Israel–Iran: Market Takeaways

Yahoo

time5 days ago

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Tech IPOs, stocks strong despite Israel–Iran: Market Takeaways

Yahoo Finance Markets Reporter Josh Schafer joins Asking for a Trend with Josh Lipton to discuss two main takeaways of the trading day: US markets (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC) staying resilient despite escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, and tech companies that recently went public continuing to outperform, like CoreWeave (CRWV) and Circle (CRCL). To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Asking for a Trend here.

Trading Day: Bond alarms ring louder
Trading Day: Bond alarms ring louder

Yahoo

time21-05-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Trading Day: Bond alarms ring louder

By Jamie McGeever ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist U.S. debt despair Investors' unease about holding long-dated sovereign debt was magnified by a soft 20-year U.S. Treasury note auction on Wednesday, which slammed the dollar and stocks, pushed long bond yields higher and steepened the U.S. yield curve. In my column today I take a closer look at the rising term premium on U.S. debt. How much higher can it go? More on that below, but first, a roundup of the main market moves. I'd love to hear from you, so please reach out to me with comments at You can also follow me at @ReutersJamie and @ Trading Day is also sent by email every weekday morning. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today. 1. Weak U.S. economic outlook persists despite brief tradetruce with China 2. What's in the Republican tax and spending plan? 3. Target cuts annual forecasts as tariff pressure mounts,demand slows further 4. Japan's portfolio reshuffle raises red flag for U.S.:Mike Dolan 5. UK inflation jumps in April, raising prospect of BoErate cut delay Today's Key Market Moves * Wall Street slides across the board, with the S&P 500losing 1.6%, the Nasdaq 1.4%, the Dow 1.9%, and the Russell 2000small-cap index shedding 2.6%. * Treasury yields surge as much as 13 bps at the long end ofthe curve - 10-year yield scales 4.60%; 20-year and 30-yearyields hit 4.13% and 5.10%, respectively, both the highest sinceOctober 2023. * Another down day for the dollar, as the dollar index falls0.5%, with the euro, Aussie dollar and yen the big winners. * The Japanese yen rallies for a seventh consecutive day, awinning streak last seen in March 2017. * Bitcoin rises to a record high just shy of $110,000,before easing back after the soft U.S. 20-year bond auction. Bond alarms ring louder After a poor 20-year government bond auction in Japan on Tuesday, it was the turn of a weak sale of 20-year U.S. debt on Wednesday to cast a cold, dark shadow over world markets and put investors on the defensive. The trouble is, when supposedly safe-haven sovereign bonds are at the root of the deepening market angst, the selloff takes on a more worrisome significance. And when it's U.S. Treasuries specifically, the cause for concern is even greater. Wednesday's auction of 20-year notes, the first sale of U.S. government debt since Moody's stripped the U.S. of its triple-A rating last week, drew softer demand than usual, but what soured sentiment and risk appetite was the high yield investors demanded. That was always going to be the case really - investors of all stripes from every corner of the world will buy Treasuries, the only doubt is the price. It was clearly lower than expected on Wednesday, and markets reacted accordingly. Washington's fiscal profligacy remains a major source of anxiety for bond investors. Non-partisan analysts say President Donald Trump's tax-cut bill proposals will add between $2 trillion and $5 trillion to the $36 trillion federal debt over the next decade. The 20-year Treasury note auction provided fuel for the bond fire, but fixed income was already smoldering on Wednesday - long-dated Japanese yields were at record highs and figures showed UK inflation rose much faster than expected to 3.5% in April, the highest in over a year. Tariffs, monetary stimulus, rising debt levels, poor fiscal discipline, growing policy risk, sticky inflation and soaring inflation expectations - these are some of the reasons investors around the world are reluctant to go long 'duration', or buy long-dated bonds. It's a potent mix, and all markets are feeling the heat. U.S. markets, in particular, are under pressure as the rest of the world reevaluates its holdings of dollar-denominated assets in light of Trump's global trade war and drive to upend the world economic order of the past 80 years. Steep declines in U.S. stocks, Treasuries and the dollar on Wednesday point to a nervy global session on Thursday. How much higher can the U.S. term premium go? A lot Financial markets have had a fairly muted reaction to Moody's decision to strip the United States of its triple-A credit rating last week, fueling hopes that the action will do little long-term damage to U.S. asset prices, as was the case when the U.S. suffered its first downgrade in 2011. But given today's challenging global macroeconomic environment and America's deteriorating fiscal health, that may be wishful thinking. To monitor the impact in the coming months, a key indicator to watch will be the so-called 'term premium' on U.S. debt. When Standard & Poor's Global became the first of the three major ratings agencies to cut America's top-notch rating in August 2011, there was little blowback because Treasuries were still widely considered the safest asset in the world. Demand for U.S. bonds went through the roof, despite S&P's landmark move, and yields and the term premium plummeted. That's unlikely to happen now. In 2011, the U.S. debt/GDP ratio was 94%, a record at the time reflecting a surge in government spending in response to the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis. But the fed funds rate was only 0.25%, and inflation was 3% but falling. It dropped to zero a few years later and did not return to 3% until the pandemic in 2020. It's a vastly different picture today. U.S. public debt is around 100% of GDP and projected to rise to 134% over the next decade, according to Moody's. Official interest rates are above 4%, inflation is 2.3% but expected to rise as tariff-fueled price hikes kick in. Meanwhile, consumers' short- and long-term inflation expectations are the highest in decades. And while the $29 trillion Treasury market is still the linchpin of the global financial system, increasing U.S. policy risk is prompting the rest of the world to rethink its exposure to U.S. assets, including Treasuries - 'de-dollarization' is underway. HISTORICALLY LOW Put all that together, and it's easy to see why the 'term premium' - the risk premium investors demand for holding longer-term bonds rather than rolling over short-term debt - is liable to rise after this downgrade, unlike 2011. Especially given its relatively low starting point. True, the term premium was already the highest in a decade before the Moody's downgrade on Friday, and is now 0.75%, or 75 basis points. But that is still well below the level in 2011 and slim by historical standards. In July 2011, the term premium on 10-year Treasuries was over 2.0%, but quickly slumped after the S&P downgrade the following month to below 1% and was negative within a few years. Treasuries were downgraded, but their status as the world's undisputed safe-haven asset remained intact. The last time Uncle Sam's debt or inflation dynamics were as concerning as they are today, the term premium was much higher. It rose to 5% during the 'stagflation'-hit 1970s, and was around 4% following the 'Volcker shock' recessions in the early 1980s triggered by the Fed's double-digit interest rates to quell double-digit inflation. "The term premium has come up quite a bit recently and is likely going to rise more given the fiscal challenges the U.S. is facing," notes Emanuel Moench, professor at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and co-creator of the New York Fed's 'ACM' term premium model. "The worry some investors might have is a self-fulfilling debt crisis – a high debt/GDP ratio increases interest rates, which raises the interest rate burden of the government and means you can't so easily grow yourself out of this anymore. This may push the term premium higher." FEEL THE SQUEEZE The question is, how high can it go? History suggests it can go a lot higher until Washington exerts some serious fiscal discipline, or until the squeeze on households, businesses and the federal government from higher market-based borrowing costs gets too much. Some analysts reckon another 50 basis points this year, which would take the 10-year yield up to around 5.00%, a pivotal level for many investors and the historical post-GFC high from October 2023. With fiscal uncertainty so high and policy credibility so low, it's a "tenuous" time right now for Treasuries, as Moench notes. The global environment is nervy too - Japan's 30-year yield this week soared to a record high. BlackRock Investment Institute strategists point out that long-term Treasuries still carry a "relatively low risk premium versus the past", and their "starting point" in their portfolio construction is to assume a rising term premium and "persistent" inflation pressure. They are underweight long-dated Treasuries. Treasuries will always attract buyers. It's just that the clearing price they accept may be lower, and the term premium they demand may be higher. The risk now is it's a lot higher. What could move markets tomorrow? * India, Japan, UK, Germany, euro zone, U.S. flash PMIs(May) * ECB's De Guindos, Escriva speak in Madrid * BoE's Sarah Breeden, Swati Dhingra, Huw Pill speak atvarious events * Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin, New York FedPresident John Williams speak at separate events * U.S. weekly jobless claims * U.S. 10-year TIPS auction * G7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs meet inCanada Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. (By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Nia Williams) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Trading Day: Japan's long bond warning
Trading Day: Japan's long bond warning

Yahoo

time20-05-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Trading Day: Japan's long bond warning

By Jamie McGeever ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist U.S. assets in the red It was a sobering day for U.S. assets on Tuesday, with Wall Street, the dollar and longer-dated Treasuries all declining as investors took a breather to digest last week's U.S. sovereign credit downgrade and the latest twists in President Donald Trump's efforts to push his sweeping tax-cut bill through Congress. The general fiscal health of developed economies and rise in long-term yields more broadly are top of investors' minds, and the most significant move in global markets on Tuesday was Japan's 30-year yield hitting a record high. More on that below, but first, a roundup of the main market moves. I'd love to hear from you, so please reach out to me with comments at You can also follow me at @ReutersJamie and @ Trading Day is also sent by email every weekday morning. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today. 1. A junk-rated U.S. Treasury? Markets 'care' about that:Mike Dolan 2. Trump visits Capitol to try to mend U.S. HouseRepublican rifts on tax bill 3. BOJ urged to boost bond buying in wake of spike insuper-long yields 4. China cuts key rates to aid economy as trade war simmers 5. With U.S. and EU deals, Britain embarks on high-riskbalancing act Today's Key Market Moves * Wall Street's three main indices close lower, falling asmuch as 0.4%. The S&P 500's fall is its first in seven however, the VIX volatility index also falls. * Japan's 30-year yield leaps 16 bps on the day to a recordhigh of 3.14%. * The Australian dollar falls 0.6%, one of the biggestdecliners in G10 FX, after the RBA cuts interest rates andleaves the door open to further easing. * Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong-listed stocks rise afterChina's central bank cuts rates for the first time sinceOctober. * Safe-haven gold rises nearly 2% on the back of a weakerdollar, global trade uncertainty, and Wall Street weakness. Japan's long bond warning If Tuesday was a relatively calm day across global equity markets, the same cannot be said for Japanese Government Bonds, particularly the long end of the curve after a poor auction of 20-year securities triggered a rush for the exits. The 30-year JGB yield rose above the previous high from November 2000 to a fresh record peak of 3.14% and is now up more than 40 bps this month, putting it on track for its biggest monthly rise on record. The spread between Japan's 30-year JGB yield and Bank of Japan policy rate is now 263 basis points, the widest since 2004 and close to the record high around 290 bps from August that year. The severe weakness of longer-dated Japanese sovereign bond prices is the clearest reflection of a global phenomenon currently underway - declining demand for 'duration', or investors' reluctance to hold long-term government debt. Of course, Japan's fiscal dynamics are particularly fragile. The country's gross debt-to-GDP ratio of more than 250% is by far the highest in the developed world. For years it sustained that huge debt burden while paying the lowest interest rates in the developed world, but that sweet spot has gone - perhaps for good - and investors are now demanding a much higher risk premium. In many ways, Japan's situation is unique, but where Japan leads other countries often follow. Public finances and debt dynamics are deteriorating across the G7 and beyond, and ratings agency Moody's last week stripped the U.S. of its triple-A credit rating. The impact on U.S. assets has been relatively muted so far, although long-dated yields remain elevated, indicating that the move was hardly a shock. Wednesday's 20-year Treasury note auction will be under the spotlight, though, for signs of how strong or otherwise investor demand is. There will probably always be demand for the most liquid asset in the world's deepest market - it's just a question of price. In that light, interest from foreign buyers at the 20-year auction will be intensely scrutinized, given the growing worries about 'de-dollarization' and Treasuries' 'safe-haven' status. What could move markets tomorrow? * Japan Tankan non-manufacturing index (May) * Japan trade (April) * Indonesia interest rate decision * UK inflation (April) * U.S. 20-year Treasury note auction * ECB publishes Financial Stability Review * G7 finance ministers, central bank chiefs meeting inCanada Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. (By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Nia Williams) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Trading Day: Japan's long bond warning
Trading Day: Japan's long bond warning

Yahoo

time20-05-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Trading Day: Japan's long bond warning

By Jamie McGeever ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist U.S. assets in the red It was a sobering day for U.S. assets on Tuesday, with Wall Street, the dollar and longer-dated Treasuries all declining as investors took a breather to digest last week's U.S. sovereign credit downgrade and the latest twists in President Donald Trump's efforts to push his sweeping tax-cut bill through Congress. The general fiscal health of developed economies and rise in long-term yields more broadly are top of investors' minds, and the most significant move in global markets on Tuesday was Japan's 30-year yield hitting a record high. More on that below, but first, a roundup of the main market moves. I'd love to hear from you, so please reach out to me with comments at You can also follow me at @ReutersJamie and @ Trading Day is also sent by email every weekday morning. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today. 1. A junk-rated U.S. Treasury? Markets 'care' about that:Mike Dolan 2. Trump visits Capitol to try to mend U.S. HouseRepublican rifts on tax bill 3. BOJ urged to boost bond buying in wake of spike insuper-long yields 4. China cuts key rates to aid economy as trade war simmers 5. With U.S. and EU deals, Britain embarks on high-riskbalancing act Today's Key Market Moves * Wall Street's three main indices close lower, falling asmuch as 0.4%. The S&P 500's fall is its first in seven however, the VIX volatility index also falls. * Japan's 30-year yield leaps 16 bps on the day to a recordhigh of 3.14%. * The Australian dollar falls 0.6%, one of the biggestdecliners in G10 FX, after the RBA cuts interest rates andleaves the door open to further easing. * Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong-listed stocks rise afterChina's central bank cuts rates for the first time sinceOctober. * Safe-haven gold rises nearly 2% on the back of a weakerdollar, global trade uncertainty, and Wall Street weakness. Japan's long bond warning If Tuesday was a relatively calm day across global equity markets, the same cannot be said for Japanese Government Bonds, particularly the long end of the curve after a poor auction of 20-year securities triggered a rush for the exits. The 30-year JGB yield rose above the previous high from November 2000 to a fresh record peak of 3.14% and is now up more than 40 bps this month, putting it on track for its biggest monthly rise on record. The spread between Japan's 30-year JGB yield and Bank of Japan policy rate is now 263 basis points, the widest since 2004 and close to the record high around 290 bps from August that year. The severe weakness of longer-dated Japanese sovereign bond prices is the clearest reflection of a global phenomenon currently underway - declining demand for 'duration', or investors' reluctance to hold long-term government debt. Of course, Japan's fiscal dynamics are particularly fragile. The country's gross debt-to-GDP ratio of more than 250% is by far the highest in the developed world. For years it sustained that huge debt burden while paying the lowest interest rates in the developed world, but that sweet spot has gone - perhaps for good - and investors are now demanding a much higher risk premium. In many ways, Japan's situation is unique, but where Japan leads other countries often follow. Public finances and debt dynamics are deteriorating across the G7 and beyond, and ratings agency Moody's last week stripped the U.S. of its triple-A credit rating. The impact on U.S. assets has been relatively muted so far, although long-dated yields remain elevated, indicating that the move was hardly a shock. Wednesday's 20-year Treasury note auction will be under the spotlight, though, for signs of how strong or otherwise investor demand is. There will probably always be demand for the most liquid asset in the world's deepest market - it's just a question of price. In that light, interest from foreign buyers at the 20-year auction will be intensely scrutinized, given the growing worries about 'de-dollarization' and Treasuries' 'safe-haven' status. What could move markets tomorrow? * Japan Tankan non-manufacturing index (May) * Japan trade (April) * Indonesia interest rate decision * UK inflation (April) * U.S. 20-year Treasury note auction * ECB publishes Financial Stability Review * G7 finance ministers, central bank chiefs meeting inCanada Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. (By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Nia Williams) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Trading Day: Inflation - calm before the storm?
Trading Day: Inflation - calm before the storm?

Yahoo

time15-05-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Trading Day: Inflation - calm before the storm?

By Jamie McGeever ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist Softer bond yields cushion stocks Cooler inflation pressures in the shape of surprisingly soft U.S. economic data and a slide in oil prices helped bring down Treasury yields and support stocks on Thursday, although the recent surge on Wall Street does appear to be losing steam. In my column today I look at how the decline in U.S. inflation - a healthy development, in most people's eyes - is coming with an unwelcome side effect - rising real yields. More on that below, but first, a roundup of the main market moves. I'd love to hear from you, so please reach out to me with comments at You can also follow me at @ReutersJamie and @ Trading Day is also sent by email every weekday morning. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today. 1. Trump promises to strengthen ties with United ArabEmirates on Gulf tour 2. Fed policymakers on hold to seek clarity from the data,but the data are not cooperating 3. APEC warns of stalling trade due to tariffs as China, USofficials meet 4. UK economy has a growth spurt before tax and tariffchallenges 5. Republicans embrace Trump's populist tax push withmidterms in mind Today's Key Market Moves * The Dow is the best performer of Wall Street's three mainindices, rising 0.65%. It's now right around the 200-day movingaverage of 42289 points. * The VIX volatility index closes at 17.81, its lowestclosing level since March 25. * Walmart shares fall as much as 5% after the retailerwarns on the outlook, but end the day only 0.5% lower. * Oil falls 2.5% on expectations for a U.S.-Iran nucleardeal, which could ease sanctions and free up more supply. * The yen is the big gainer in G10 FX, rising around 0.8%against the dollar ahead of Japan's Q1 GDP data on Friday. * South Korea's won rallies after a government official saysthe deputy finance minister met with a senior U.S. Treasuryofficial on May 5 to discuss the dollar/won market. * Gold hits a one-month low of $3,120/oz before reboundingto close at the day's high, up nearly 2% at $3,235/oz. Inflation - calm before the storm? A decline in European and U.S. bond yields provided the springboard for equity markets on Thursday. Or at least a cushion. Thursday's U.S. bond market rally will also have come as relief to policymakers in Washington as yields pulled back sharply across the curve, but not before longer-dated yields hit fresh one-month highs. The 10-year yield hit 4.55% and the 30-year yield reached 5.00% before sliding back. The recovery in global stock prices since the 'Liberation Day' tariff debacle early last month has been impressive, but understandably, that momentum is fading. For that momentum to be rekindled, a further decline in bond yields may be required. Although figures this week showed U.S. consumer and producer inflation cooled in April, tariffs have yet to bite and price pressures are tilted to the upside. Worries about the U.S. public finances are intensifying too. The Trump administration's plans to extend tax cuts, coupled with what many analysts consider to be a lack of commitment to reduce spending, will widen the budget deficit, perhaps to more than 7% of GDP. Add to that the apparent desire among foreign investors to reduce their exposure to U.S. assets, and Treasuries' safe haven allure has been diminished. Just when the deficit is widening. All of this means the 'term premium' - the extra compensation investors demand to hold longer maturity Treasuries rather than rolling over short-dated ones - is near the highest in over a decade. The yields on 10- and 30-year bonds are now not too far away from levels that were the norm before the Global Financial Crisis. Previous spikes in the term premium have cheapened bond prices sufficiently to attract overseas money back into the market, especially the 7-10 year part of the Treasury curve, says Bank of New York's John Velis. But this hasn't happened this time around, suggesting yields may have further to rise. It's notable that the 30-year yield fell only 5 basis points on Thursday, 3-4 basis points less than any other point on the curve. Meanwhile, the main focus for investors in Asia on Friday will be Japan's first quarter GDP figures. Economists polled by Reuters expect an annualized contraction of 0.2%, which would be a significant drop from the 2.2% expansion the previous quarter and the first in a year. These are backward-looking numbers but the immediate outlook is highly uncertain, at best - the tariff turbulence has put the yen back under pressure and has, according to many analysts, put the Bank of Japan's rate-hiking cycle on ice. US inflation progress stokes real yield problem Few would find fault with the steady, gradual decline in U.S. inflation, but it has recently come with an unwelcome side effect: rising 'real' borrowing costs. With the Federal Reserve's official policy rate on hold and the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield edging higher, inflation-adjusted interest rates – so-called real rates – are rising, effectively tightening monetary policy and financial conditions. The real yield on the 10-year Treasury note is now approaching 2.20%, the highest in a decade, based on the April headline annual CPI inflation rate of 2.3%. And the real fed funds rate has risen from a low of 1.50% in January to eclipse 2.00%, the highest in more than six months. While real borrowing costs are not at levels that will trigger alarm bells with Fed officials, CEOs or CIOs, the direction of travel is pretty clear, and is one more factor that could weigh on the activity of consumers, businesses, and investors in an environment already shrouded in a thick fog of uncertainty. Additionally, for policymakers, it shines a light on the constant struggle to determine the optimal interest rate at any given time. In Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference earlier this month after the central bank left its fed funds target range on hold at 4.25-4.50%, he said no fewer than eight times that rates are "in a good place". Current policy is "somewhat" and "modestly or moderately" restrictive, he added. The higher real rates grind, however, the tighter policy gets, unless the Fed resumes its easing cycle, which has been on pause following cuts of 100 basis points between last August and December. The tariff-fueled uncertainty and volatility of recent months has helped to extend that pause and, thus, enabled real rates to rise. R-STAR, MAN Real borrowing costs can send vastly different signals from their nominal equivalents. For example, Japan's official policy rate and long-dated bond yields are the highest in years, but the real policy rate is deeply negative and by far the lowest among the G4 central banks. In the U.S., the signaling behind today's rate moves is far from clear. If real yields are rising because investors are demanding a risk premium to hold dollars and Treasuries, then it's a cause for concern. If the upward shift reflects strong growth expectations, then that's much more positive. But, regardless, one thing is evident. The higher U.S. real rates grind, the further away they move from 'R-Star', the amorphous real rate of interest that neither stimulates nor crimps economic activity when the economy is at full employment. Two closely watched R-Star models partly constructed by current New York Fed President John Williams suggest the optimum real interest rate at the end of December was 0.8% or 1.3%, both the lowest in years. These figures will be updated for the January-March quarter at the end of this month. Fed rate-setters' median projection for the natural real interest rate is around 1.0%, and this view will be updated next month. These projections assume inflation at the Fed's 2% target, which it hasn't been for years. The R-Star concept has come under heavy criticism since the pandemic. Williams defended it in July last year, saying it is a fundamental part of all macroeconomic models and frameworks. "Pretending it doesn't exist or wishing it away does not change that." But he also cautioned that R-Star should not be "overly" relied upon when setting appropriate monetary policy "at a given point in time" given the uncertainty surrounding it. So as real rates move further away from this theoretical sweet spot, what, if anything, is the real-world impact? Right now, financial conditions are loosening as markets calm after the market turmoil wrought by the 'Liberation Day' tariff tantrum last month. But if you exclude that uniquely volatile episode, conditions have been steadily tightening since September last year, Goldman Sachs's U.S. financial conditions index shows. Further upside for real yields from here may be limited if inflation ticks higher in the coming months as Trump's tariffs kick in. But worries over U.S. debt and deficits are beginning to weigh on the long end of the bond market again. As investors continue to monitor countless economic variables to determine where the U.S. economy is heading, elevated real yields are one they should watch closely. What could move markets tomorrow? * Japan GDP (Q1) * Bank of Japan policymaker Nakamura Toyoaki speaks * ECB board member Philip Lane speaks * University of Michigan consumer confidence, inflationexpectations (May) * Richmond Fed president Thomas Barkin speaks Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. (By Jamie McGeever)

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