Monitor Bond Yields - Feels like 1987?Hey there, thanks for reading my idea! This isn't financial advice. Remember to do your own DD. Investing is risky.
This is connected to my "Feeling Overextended?" idea which can be found here .
An important metric to watch when determining whether a recession is imminent is the inversion of the Treasury bonds yield curve. Most specifically, the 3-month, 2-year and 10-year yields. The inversion occurs when the shorter-term note yields begin to rise and exceed long-term note yields.
Ideal bull market conditions would have higher yields in long-term notes and lower yields in short-term notes. Higher long-term yields forecast economic growth where the Government can be expected to be able to pay back the bond. Typically, higher yields are associated with higher interest rates, which poses as an investor risk, hence the higher yield premium. Meanwhile, higher short-term yields forecast economic downturn as investors look for shorter time horizon returns to minimize risk.
We have to remember that the Fed is expanding it's balance sheet through QE by buying certain assets such as mortgage-backed securities and TREASURY NOTES from the market, and J. Powell is confidently using his tools to prevent a market crash. By buying Treasury notes, the Fed can manipulate yields to create a positive outlook of the economy through a "positive" yield curve, rather than an inverted yield curve. In fact, the Fed has accumulated approximately $3billion in Treasury notes since the Covid crash. (source here , scroll down to the Fed Balance Sheet graph.)
Is it recession time yet according to the yields? Maybe not yet, but once the 3 month and 2 year yields begin to rise, this should place pressure on the 10 year yield to fall., setting the stage for the next downward cycle.
