Bridge over fire: Looking ahead at fixed income in Q4

'Ongoing limbo'

There was no shortage of fear in the global bond markets in the third quarter.

Central banks aggressively pushed short rates higher in response to the worst inflation of the last half century, and the consequent bear flattening in yield curves added to the year's steep losses.  The bond price declines continued to fuel retail fund outflows, and given the poor liquidity conditions, led to a defensive market environment with huge intra- and inter-day swings. Investors may watch the day-to-day moves, which may be driven by any number of risks, with rapt attention. Yet, a closer look at four market issues provides context around market fragility, factors contributin...