US Treasury and aggregate bonds are risky because rates are more likely to go up than down, whatever their current level. In that scenario, bond math works against holders. Oaktree's Howard Marks argues these are among the lowest rates of the last 50 years, but the direction matters more than the level. x.com 

Inflation has broken long-dated US Treasuries' safe-haven role. Long-term Treasuries have returned -4.1% annually in the 2020s to date, versus +4.9% in the 1930s. Long bonds look unlikely to do well for at least the rest of this decade. x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com 

US Treasuries remain unattractive despite retail bond-fund buying: Fidelity's Jurrien Timmer reports end investors accumulating bond funds, while retail buyers risk becoming exit liquidity before the debt cycle capitulates. Rising debt and debt-supply-led inflation are expected to push long-end yields higher even after the midterms. Junk-credit stress adds to the risk of a wider debt-market selloff, leaving bonds a risky equity-crash hedge. x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com 

Long-dated US Treasuries face pressure because the market will buy US debt only at 5%-plus yields, with no short-term fix in sight. The 10-year yield keeps climbing parabolically as Washington issues enormous debt to fund deficits, investors demand more compensation for inflation and duration risk, the Fed is now raising rates, and Treasuries must compete harder for global capital. The government seems reluctant to act, while rising oil prices add to inflation pressure. x.com 

US Treasuries face rising yields because the US is running out of willing buyers for its debt. With about $40 trillion of debt and large deficits, foreign governments no longer want to finance America after errant trade policy and poor diplomacy, and capital has better places to go than government bonds. Bondholders have lost a ton in the past year. Higher rates will either curb fiscal bad behavior or create a crisis, since a 5% Treasury cannot last long without a debt spiral. x.com  x.com 

Long-dated Treasuries are the safe-haven trade again as money rotates into yield. With the 30-year paying over 5%, holding non-yielding assets is harder to justify; after the Fed held, yields fell across the curve and TLT rose 1%. x.com 

Long-dated Treasuries carry duration risk that isn't worth taking given a structural 6% U.S. deficit and bipartisan acceptance of inflation to support asset prices. With 4.5% available at the short end, there is little reason to own the long end. Even Lacy Hunt, long confident in deflation, is throwing in the towel on long bonds over fiscal largesse. Six years after Covid nothing has changed, so this is not about a local tradable bottom. x.com  x.com 

The 10-year yield above 5% limits how far the US equity rally can stretch, even as stocks shrugged off the Fed hold. Two policymakers wanted a hike, the 10-year rose to about 5.04%, and bonds sold while all four major indices closed higher. Rates need to cool for the rally to extend. x.com 

Over a 20-year horizon the S&P 500 should beat long-dated Treasuries even at a 5.3% yield, because adjusted for inflation those bonds return only about 3% a year. Choosing Treasuries over the S&P 500 for that span is lunacy. x.com  x.com 

Treasuries are losing their risk-free appeal as inflation runs hot and US government credibility erodes. If the 10-year projects inflation to surge, bonds that barely beat it make little sense, and Fed hikes won't slow a hot economy or fix an energy supply shock with oil at $100. Higher borrowing costs make the growing debt harder to finance, leading to money printing and more inflation. Big tech is more creditworthy than ever; even for fixed income, Alphabet's corporate debt is preferable. … Show more