Fixed Income – Page 5
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White papersWill Hawks Still Rule the Roost at Europe’s Central Banks?
As European inflation rates converge with targets, markets expect rate cuts. But central banks are set on a decisive victory over inflation.
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White papersEurope: time for fiscal consolidation
The public finances of Eurozone countries began to improve in 2023 and fiscal consolidation will intensify in most Eurozone countries during 2024. Still, fiscal vulnerability – particularly for the most heavily-indebted countries – will rise over time, leading to a higher probability that public debt will not stabilise. The aim of the new fiscal rules is to ensure the longterm sustainability of public finances, but funding for the green transition could suffer.
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White papersJobs and inflation on market’s radar
Like in 2023, inflation figures will remain, in 2024, an important driver of market’s expectations regarding Fed rates decisions. Inflation has come down by a lot, but it is still above 2% and the latest reading shows a slowdown in the disinflationary trend.
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White papersDiversifying income in a new era
With investors facing an uncertain economic and interest rate environment, many are tempted to over-allocate to cash and wait for further clarity. But we believe investors should continue seeking opportunities for portfolio growth and income generation, even if that means looking in unexpected areas. We offer three themes to consider, along with ideas for portfolio positioning.
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White papersSurfing the Curve With Short-Duration Credit
Why short-dated bonds may offer the most attractive risk-adjusted yield as the economy slows.
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White papersNatural Selection: Evaluating Debt-for-Nature Swaps
Investors are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of biodiversity and the urgency of preserving our planet’s natural capital—the stock of natural resources that underpin our economy and society, including minerals, soils, air, water and all living organisms. In response, bond issuers are launching more conservation-linked bond structures that can help indebted developing countries protect their vulnerable ecosystems. These structures require careful evaluation.
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White papersGlobal fixed income outlook 2024: opportunity knocking
The world appears to have moved beyond the height of interest rate hikes, inflation and economic acceleration.
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White papersCentral Bank Watch: Hold your horses
The Franklin Templeton Fixed Income (FTFI) Central Bank Watch is a qualitative assessment of the central banks for the Group of Ten (G10) nations plus two additional countries (China and South Korea).
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White papersA Compelling Value Proposition in EM IG Corporate Debt
Elevated yields, improving credit quality and lower interest rate risk are presenting a strong case for EM investment grade corporate debt—especially in a soft landing scenario.
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White papersEuropean leveraged loans outlook: Embracing the unknown
Despite another challenging year for financial markets, European leveraged loans bucked the trend generating healthy double-digit returns. Here, we explore some of the key drivers behind the defensive nature of the loan universe and ask: through the many unknowns on the horizon, could European loans provide solace for investors in the year ahead?
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White papersFixed Income Investment Outlook: 1Q 2024
Amid slower economic growth and more benign monetary policy, we believe that this year bond prices will be driven less by inflation and central bank policy and more by economic growth dynamics. Rather than seek to play the timing of interest rate reductions, we think it will be more effective to focus on the ultimate destination of rates and adapt portfolios accordingly.
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White papersThe case for bank credit/AT1s over equity
It’s been a really great couple of years for the banking sector – after a decade or more of zero interest policy when every year that went by bank margins fell, suddenly banks have lots of margin to play with as interest rates have risen to more normalised levels.
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White papersEMD outlook 2024: Navigating a bifurcated universe
In this outlook, we outline the global backdrop that emerging markets (EMs) can expect in 2024, including a more dovish US Federal Reserve (Fed), a more supportive backdrop for EM currencies and weak global growth.
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White papersFixed-Income Outlook 2024: Bonds Roar Back
The tide has turned for bonds. Here’s what we think is in store for 2024.
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White papersThe what, why and how of the global fixed income and municipal markets
The evolving fixed income market environment - Key 2023 themes
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White papersTaxable Municipal bonds: yields moving higher
The taxable municipal bond market experienced negative third quarter returns in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries. With the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) nearing the end of its rate hike cycle, higher yields have increased future expected returns, given yields are now at levels not seen over the last decade. We believe portfolios should be rewarded by assuming a modestly longer duration profile while adding credit risk.
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White papersLong-term Capital Market Expectations: Higher yields lift all boats
The Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions team’s capital market expectations (CME) is designed to provide annualized return expectations over a longer-term horizon, typically viewed as 10 years.
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White papers‘Peak rates’ and opportunities for credit selection in 2024
After two years of declines, 2023 proved to be another tough year for bond investors. However, a powerful rebound towards year end helped the global bond index end the year in positive territory for the first time in three years. Below, Jim Leaviss, CIO Fixed Income at M&G Investments, shares his views on the prospects for bond markets in today’s ‘peak rates’ environment, while senior credit portfolio manager Richard Ryan looks at the opportunities presented by fundamental credit selection.
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White papersTime for credit – why we like investment grade
To better understand the impact of potential macroeconomic scenarios on the asset class, we have undertaken a sensitivity analysis of the global investment grade corporate bond market. This sensitivity analysis points to one clear implication: the importance of investing in fixed income despite ongoing uncertainty. We believe fixed income, in particular credit markets, have become a much more attractive proposition for investors.
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White papersResilient private credit fills a growing need across U.S. and Europe
The U.S. and European private credit markets have been a significant success story of asset management for the last decade.
