Zenolytics
Founder of Zenolytics, Portfolio Manager at T11 Capital
The secular rise in Treasury yields will likely last longer and go further than most expect, making bets on a yield low premature. Investors tried to time the low in yields from the early 2000s and were 20 years early. The most rate-sensitive sectors, homebuilders, mortgage names and private equity, where smart money would show up first if a turn were near, show no hint of accumulation. x.com x.comÂ
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.comÂ
Treasury buybacks are too small to offset selling pressure on long-dated US Treasuries. Today's buyback of up to $6 billion of 20- to 30-year debt barely moves the needle, and recent buybacks have failed to push yields sustainably lower. The bond-vigilante read is that investors are selling into Treasury's buying to test Secretary Scott Bessent's ability to control the long end. x.comÂ
Treasury yields are putting in a top, and bonds look to be at a major bottom. Deflation is coming, and investors are extrapolating rate momentum, adding two plus two and getting six; that move will likely reverse soon. The fear in questions about how high rates can go is typical of major bottoms. Equity markets are not close to signaling a reversal either. x.com x.comÂ
High Treasury yields keep US real-estate stocks from being a buy yet, despite a record low against the S&P 500. Each hike pushes the sector lower; the 10-year yield above 5% argues for waiting rather than assuming rotation is inevitable. A turn likely needs falling rates, perhaps a first cut or the 10-year back below 4%. x.com x.com x.com x.com x.com x.com x.com x.com x.com x.comÂ
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.comÂ
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.comÂ
Economic projections for falling inflation and rising unemployment leave December as the only window for another Fed hike, exposing long-dated Treasuries to more selling as yields rebound. Treasury buying has cooled yields ahead of the midterms, but yields should rise again with stocks and crypto through year-end. The subsequent liquidity shift should bring bearish volatility at first; then TLT should break above 81-82 as the Fed turns to cuts of at least 50 basis points by March 2027. x.comÂ
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.comÂ
Long-dated US Treasuries look favorable as the rise in 10-year yields appears mostly over; inflation searches have peaked, and only 13 of 29 tracked commodities are above their 50-day averages. x.com x.com x.comÂ
Long-dated Treasuries remain under pressure from historic AI borrowing and hot price gauges, even as the long end eases from 2002 highs. The AI sector has raised about $500 billion of debt in nine months, a quarter of all corporate issuance, and Goldman Sachs sees $1.2 trillion in 2027. Monday's ISM services prices-paid gauge hit its highest in over four years, and a December Fed hike is still largely priced. The 10-year back above 5.35% would end the relief; Brent under $97 would extend it. … Show more
