phuttaphat tipsana/iStock via Getty Images Highlights • U.S. investment-grade corporate bonds gained in the fourth quarter. • The fund underperformed its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Bond Index. • Individual security selection detracted from performance while sector allocation and yield curve positioning were additive to performance during the quarter. Market review and outlook U.S. inv...
phuttaphat tipsana/iStock via Getty Images Highlights • U.S. investment-grade corporate bonds gained in the fourth quarter. • The fund underperformed its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Bond Index. • Individual security selection detracted from performance while sector allocation and yield curve positioning were additive to performance during the quarter. Market review and outlook U.S. investment-grade corporate bonds posted positive returns in the fourth quarter, capping a solid year of performance. Despite further declines in consumer sentiment, the U.S. economy posted its fastest quarterly growth rate in two years in the third quarter, led by strong consumer spending. Nonetheless, continued weakness in the labor market, including a four-year high in the unemployment rate, led the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) to cut short-term interest rates twice during the quarter. The Fed's decision-making was complicated by the longest federal government shutdown in the nation's history, which caused delays and hiccups in the government's economic data collection and reporting. The yield curve steepened during the quarter as short-term bond yields declined, reflecting the Fed rate cuts, while intermediate-term bond yields were largely unchanged, and long-term bond yields rose slightly. Investment-grade corporate bonds underperformed the broader bond market during the quarter due to their greater exposure to the long end of the yield curve. The economic and political uncertainty that permeated the financial markets in 2025 is likely to remain a significant factor in the coming year. The market consensus regarding the Fed in 2026 is for two interest rate cuts, but that outlook could be impacted by both economic developments and a new Fed chair, who will be appointed when the current chair's term expires in May. Contributors and detractors The fund underperformed the benchmark in the fourth quarter, primarily due to individual security selection. Noteworthy detractors inclu...
Being married isn't always easy. You have to cater to someone else's needs and make compromises on a frequent basis. You may also have to adjust some of your financial decisions to accommodate a spouse. When it comes to Social Security , choosing a filing age can sometimes be trickier for married folks than singles. Here's why. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Being married isn't always easy. You have to cater to someone else's needs and make compromises on a frequent basis. You may also have to adjust some of your financial decisions to accommodate a spouse. When it comes to Social Security , choosing a filing age can sometimes be trickier for married folks than singles. Here's why. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Getty Images America is in the middle of a construction boom as it rebuilds its industrial core. What began as a broad effort is now taking shape as a unified build cycle, with AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and energy security converging into a single push for long-term economic resilience. The scale of this buildout is already visible in the data. Data centers accounted for the large...
Getty Images America is in the middle of a construction boom as it rebuilds its industrial core. What began as a broad effort is now taking shape as a unified build cycle, with AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and energy security converging into a single push for long-term economic resilience. The scale of this buildout is already visible in the data. Data centers accounted for the largest commercial projects entering the planning phase in 2025. 1 And our analysis indicates that companies announced $1.42 trillion in planned U.S. manufacturing investment between January 2025 and mid-March 2026, led by strategically important industries such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. 2 As major infrastructure projects make their way through planning and development, we expect significant opportunities to materialize for companies throughout the U.S. infrastructure development value chain, including construction and engineering services providers, raw material suppliers, equipment suppliers, and industrial transportation service providers. This piece evaluates the next wave of mega-projects and how they’re taking shape across the country. New Industrial Revolution Expands the U.S. Infrastructure Development Pipeline America is in the middle of a generational buildout to lay the physical foundation for the next stage of its innovation economy. In our view, today’s cycle rests on two core pillars: building AI infrastructure that will enable the automation age and building next-gen manufacturing facilities that modernize the industrial base and reshore critical production. Together, these pillars represent multi-trillion-dollar demand for the full U.S. infrastructure development value chain 3,4 . This momentum is most visible today in manufacturing. Company efforts to boost U.S.-based manufacturing and position the country as a leader in the global AI race are leading to a growing manufacturing facility project pipeline. Investments began to accelerate at the start ...
U.S. airport chaos was set to end as the Senate in the early hours of Friday passed a bill that will fund the Transportation Security Administration and other key functions of the Department of Homeland Security.
U.S. airport chaos was set to end as the Senate in the early hours of Friday passed a bill that will fund the Transportation Security Administration and other key functions of the Department of Homeland Security.