_Economy and Finance

English KOREAN Bonds & Geopolitics The Cost of CapEx: High-Yield Rout Collides with the AI Boom Good morning. It is Tuesday, May 19, 2026. Global credit markets are facing severe disruption as sovereign bond yields reach multi-decade highs. Driven by Middle East conflict escalations, Brent crude oil spiked to 112 dollars per barrel overnight, forcing rates markets to aggressively reprice toward a higher-for-longer path. This expansion-cost surge has triggered an immediate correction in technology equities, casting doubt over the fiscal feasibility of heavily leveraged artificial intelligence development infrastructures. Concurrently, Washington and Beijing have agreed to establish dedicated boards of trade and investment following last week's high-level summit. These new frameworks aim to secure non-sensitive trade channels from national security strains. However, analysts emphasize this structural dialogue offers n...

English 한국어 With the stock market heating up, there is growing concern that the long-lasting bond bubble might finally be ready to pop. As major stock indexes like the Dow and S&P 500 soar to record highs, investors are confidently leaving the safety of bonds to chase higher returns in equities. Consequently, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note has climbed past 2 percent, hitting an 11-month high. As the economy slowly recovers, this shift toward riskier assets is likely to continue. Adding to the shift, the Federal Reserve is expected to halt further stimulus measures, paving the way for long-term interest rates to climb naturally. Market strategists predict a steady rise in yields, potentially reaching 3.2 percent by 2015. This upward trend in rates could spell trouble for the housing market, as higher mortgage rates would likely slow down home buying and refinancing, ultimately squeezing the banks. Other global factors are also pushin...

Biggest Buyers Retreat from Junk Bonds (Source: Bloomberg, February 15, 2013 ) According to Bloomberg, major institutional investors pulled back from junk bonds as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced record withdrawals, marking the first losses in eight months. The combined value of the five largest junk-debt funds fell 7% from January highs, with State Street’s $11.9 billion fund alone seeing nearly $1 billion in withdrawals over 12 days. Analysts noted that institutions such as hedge funds and banks are shifting away from broad indexes, instead targeting specific bonds. Junk bond ETFs, which attracted $8 billion in 2012 amid strong returns, are now facing outflows as strategists forecast weaker performance in 2013. Prices have declined from record highs, with concerns that valuations are stretched after years of double-digit returns. Prominent investors including Dan Fuss of Loomis Sayles and Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital warned that the market is “overbought” and calle...

Bloomberg China Soft Landing May Be Hard for Commodity Exporters By Bloomberg News - 2012.03.25 06:41 PM The good news: China’s government will engineer a soft landing. The bad news: Even a soft landing is painful for industries that have become dependent on the world’s fastest-growing major economy as their main profit engine.

Bloomberg Descending Treasury Yield Signals Slowing U.S. By John Detrixhe and Daniel Kruger - 2012.02.28 08:29 PM The $10 trillion market for U.S. Treasuries is signaling that the economic recovery may be poised to weaken even as consumer confidence rises toward pre-recession levels.

Gross Says Additional Easing Programs to Push Yields Higher By Liz Capo McCormick - 2011.10.31 06:28 AM Bill Gross, manager of the world’s biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., said the additional easing programs hinted at by Federal Reserve officials will push yields on longer-term Treasuries higher.

Mongolia Delays First U.S. Dollar Bond Sale as Economy Set for 20% Growth 2011.10.26 05:58 PM Mongolia delayed plans to sell its first U.S. dollar-denominated bonds until 2012 as surging coal exports puts the economy on target to grow 20 percent this year.

Anatomy of a soft economy August 18, 2011: 5:00 AM ET It's been a tough slog coming out of the Great Recession. As for a double dip, consider this: We've had only three in 160 years. Here's a look at how this recovery compares with recessions past.

Related News: Bloomberg , UK , Ireland , Bonds , Economy , Finance , Europe , France , Eastern Europe , Germany Bloomberg : Greek Default Would Spell ‘Havoc’ for European Banks a Year After Bailout By Aaron Kirchfeld and Elena Logutenkova - Jun 20, 2011 12:31 PM GMT+0900 A year after European officials bailed out Greece, investors say the region’s banks haven’t raised sufficient capital or cut loans enough to withstand the contagion that may follow a default.

Related News: Economy, Europe, France, Germany, U.K. & Ireland, Bonds, Eastern Europe, Italy, Currencies Europe May Withhold Half of Greek Payment By James G. Neuger and Jonathan Stearns - Jun 20, 2011 8:16 AM GMT+0900 European governments weighed withholding half of Greece’s next 12 billion-euro ($17.2 billion) aid payment, seeking to keep the country solvent while maintaining pressure on the government to slash the debt that pitched the euro area into crisis.

Related News: US , Bonds , Economy Debt Limit ‘Wrong Tool’ to Force Cuts: Bernanke By Caroline Salas Gage and Joshua Zumbrun - Jun 15, 2011 4:43 AM GMT+0900 Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the U.S. debt ceiling shouldn’t be used as a bargaining chip to force budget cuts, and failing to raise it could cause “severe disruptions” in financial markets.

Related News: U.S. · Bonds · Economy · Retail · Municipal Bonds Retail Sales in U.S. Fall Less Than Estimated; Demand for Autos Declines By Shobhana Chandra - Jun 15, 2011 5:38 AM GMT+0900 Sales at U.S. retailers fell less than projected in May, showing consumers were weathering elevated gasoline costs.

Related News: Economy · Asia · China · Finance · Real Estate · Africa · Canada · Europe · Latin America · U.S. · Bonds · Currencies · Middle East · Japan · U.K. & Ireland · Insurance · Funds · Commodities · India & Pakistan ‘Perfect Storm’ May Threaten Global Economy By Shamim Adam - Jun 13, 2011 8:58 AM GMT+0900 A “ perfect storm ” of fiscal woe in the U.S., a slowdown in China, European debt restructuring and stagnation in Japan may converge on the global economy, New York University professor Nouriel Roubini said.

Related News: Germany · Bonds · Currencies · Economy · Eastern Europe · Europe · France · U.K. & Ireland · Italy · Hedge Fund Summit Greek Default Would Not Destabilize the Euro, Bundesbank’s Weidmann Says By Richard Weiss - Jun 12, 2011 9:46 PM GMT+0900 Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann raised the pressure on governments to agree to a Greek bailout without the European Central Bank taking part in easing the country’s debt burden, saying the euro can withstand a default.

Related News: U.S. · Bonds · Currencies Fed Focusing on Inflation Expectations By Caroline Salas and Scott Lanman - May 23, 2011 8:00 AM GMT+0900 The cue for the Federal Reserve to start withdrawing its record monetary stimulus may be a measure of its own credibility: inflation expectations.

Related News: Bonds · Economy · Currencies · U.S. Geithner Says Default Damage May Be ‘Irrevocable’ By Ian Katz and Daniel Enoch - May 15, 2011 2:44 AM GMT+0900 Timothy Geithner, U.S. treasury secretary U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said a default arising from failing to raise the debt limit could cause “irrevocable damage” to the economy, risk a “double-dip” recession and increase unemployment.

Related News: U.S. · Bonds · Currencies · Funds · Economy Standard & Poor’s Puts ‘Negative’ Outlook on U.S. AAA By Rebecca Christie and Shannon D. Harrington - Apr 19, 2011 3:30 AM GMT+0900 Standard & Poor’s put the U.S. government on notice that it risks losing its AAA credit rating unless policy makers agree on a plan by 2013 to reduce budget deficits and the national debt.

Related News: Finance · Law · Europe · U.K. & Ireland · Bonds U.K.’s ‘Moderate’ Bank Report Calls for More Capital, Sales By Jon Menon and Gavin Finch - Apr 11, 2011 7:55 PM GMT+0900 The Independent Commission on Banking recommended the U.K.’s biggest banks should hold core Tier 1 capital levels of about 10 percent, implement plans for an orderly bankruptcy and ring-fence consumer units in what it termed a “moderate” set of proposals.

Related News: Economy · U.S. · Bonds · Currencies · Retail Retail Sales in U.S. Probably Rose as Job Gains Overcame Surge in Gasoline By Shobhana Chandra - Apr 11, 2011 12:25 AM GMT+0900 U.S. retail sales probably climbed in March, indicating an improving labor market is helping Americans cope with rising gasoline prices, economists said before a report this week.

Related News: Europe · Germany · Finance · U.K. & Ireland · Currencies · Bonds · France · Economy · Italy European Stress Tests to Examine Banks’ Readiness for Basel III By Ben Moshinsky - Apr 8, 2011 8:01 AM GMT+0900 European regulators were criticized by German banks for a plan to incorporate into this year’s stress tests global capital standards that aren’t scheduled to be implemented for eight years.