To: MikeM54321 who wrote (11195 ) 5/3/2001 12:46:32 PM From: axial Respond to Hi, Mike - I understand your POV. I suppose the disparity in our thinking is not that great, either.above the levels established for the Y2K non-event. no money was repeated often.was it ?in 1984, he coined the term "Bond Vigilantes" to describe the growing power of fixed income investors and traders over the economy. In recent years, he said, they've lost some of their clout because the U.S. Treasury is paying off the federal debt. Also, inflation has been relatively tame, and so have they. Venture capitalists became the new power elite in the late 1990s leading the Nasdaq to record highs. now the bond crowd is back: they are tightening credit conditions, while the Fed is easing. The Treasury bond yield is up over 50 basis points since March, which is boosting mortgage rates. The spread between A-rated corporate and 10-year Treasury yields has widened dramatically from around 150 basis points at the end of 1999 to more than 250 basis points recently. The high-yield and commercial paper markets are essentially shutdown for all but prime borrowers.
