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Rates Spark: US Treasuries turn tail and dive for safety
Quite the reaction to some weak labour market data out of the US on Thursday. In fact, one could argue, quite the overreaction. The Challenger job cuts were high, and the reference to it being the highest January number since 2009 set off alarm bells for sure. But we did see a higher number in October 2025, and these data are quite volatile. Lower yields were, of course, the correct reaction. And the extent of the reaction was amplified by the subsequent JOLTS data, which saw a bigger-than-expected fall in job openings. There are still some 6.5m job openings. But that's down from 7.2m. And jobless claims were up, ... (full story)