HYBL attempts to solve the income problem by combining senior loans, high-yield corporate bonds, and debt tranches from U.S. collateralized loan obligations (CLOs). The result is a portfolio with lower duration and lower volatility compared to traditional high-yield funds, while still targeting high current income with monthly distributions.
High energy prices are kryptonite for the housing market. Affordability, especially for those first-time home buyers, is now an elusive dream until oil prices come down and interest rates come down.
"Oil prices are higher again this morning, but Treasury yields are lower as the risks to economic growth begin to take precedence over the risks to inflation," Oxford Economics said in a note on Monday.
USHY seeks to track the investment results of the ICE BofA US High Yield Constrained Index, composed of U.S. dollar-denominated, high yield corporate bonds, providing broad exposure in a low-cost wrapper.
The U.S. Treasury bond market has finally responded to the Mideast war, giving its assessment of the energy shock's severity and the war's effect on U.S. fiscal imbalance and inflation.
BMO believes Americas Gold has the expertise to execute its optimization strategy, particularly at the Galena Complex, and sees the company's approach increasing free cash flow generation as production grows organically.
Before the Iran war began, a rate cut at the Bank's next meeting on 19 March had been an 80% chance, but policymakers are now expected to wait to see how the conflict develops with a 99% probability of a hold at the meeting and no rate cuts for the rest of 2026, markets indicate.
The dominant force in play remains the Middle East conflict, which has kept oil prices elevated and inflation expectations firm. Reports that Washington is assembling a coalition to escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz could offer some relief for the oil market and could weigh on the dollar.
In my view, interest rates are more likely than not going to head lower over the course of 2026 and into 2027. I'm not saying we're due for a pandemic-like selloff, but I do think that weakness in the labor market is likely more protracted than the government data suggest. As such, I do think the makeup of the Federal Reserve, and which way many of its presidents and voting members lean (toward providing support for the labor market over battling inflation) could lead to much faster rate cuts than many think.
Crude oil breaking above the USD 100 threshold has revived inflation concerns, pushing US Treasury yields higher across the curve. However, Friday's labour market report revealed a significant deterioration in employment conditions, with the economy losing 92,000 jobs in February, its largest contraction in several months.
On a monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index was up 0.3% after seasonal adjustment in December. Year-over-year the all-items index was up 2.7%, the same as it was in November. Shelter was the main contributor to the all-items index's monthly increase, rising 0.4% from a month prior. Other major contributors included the food index, which rose 0.7% and the energy index, which jumped 0.3%.
The resilience of gold above $4,800 per ounce at this stage reflects a delicate and complex balance between traditional supporting factors and emerging pressures-one that cannot be superficially interpreted or reduced to the movement of the dollar alone. It is true that the U.S. dollar's retreat from its recent peaks, after failing to sustain its recovery momentum from a four-year low, provided gold with a short-term breather and attracted some buyers.
Many investors regard bonds as the frumpier cousins to stocks. Their prices rarely pop or plummet. They usually deliver a lower return, and-aside from a glamorous cameo in the 1980s thriller Die Hard-they are not part of popular culture in the same way as, say, GameStop or Tesla shares. They are, though, a critical part of any well-managed portfolio, and with the stock market looking particularly frothy, this may be more true than ever.
JAAA invests exclusively in AAA-rated tranches of collateralized loan obligations. CLOs are structured securities backed by pools of leveraged loans to corporations. The AAA-rated senior tranches sit at the top of the payment waterfall, receiving interest payments first and enjoying the strongest credit protection. These loans carry floating interest rates tied to benchmark rates, meaning the fund's income rises and falls with prevailing rates. As borrowers pay interest, that income flows through to JAAA shareholders as monthly distributions.
