ArtRachen01/iStock via Getty Images Market Overview US fixed-income markets delivered positive total returns in the fourth quarter of 2025, as policy uncertainty, fiscal developments, and divergent central-bank actions shaped the investment landscape. The US began the quarter with its longest government shutdown on record, which delayed key economic data and forced the Federal Reserve (Fed) to mak...
ArtRachen01/iStock via Getty Images Market Overview US fixed-income markets delivered positive total returns in the fourth quarter of 2025, as policy uncertainty, fiscal developments, and divergent central-bank actions shaped the investment landscape. The US began the quarter with its longest government shutdown on record, which delayed key economic data and forced the Federal Reserve (Fed) to make policy decisions with limited visibility. The shutdown ended in mid-November, but data gaps persisted, adding to market uncertainty. US agency mortgage-backed securities ( MBS ), investment-grade corporate, and high-yield corporate bonds produced positive total returns. MBS and high yield outperformed duration 1 -equivalent US Treasuries, while investment-grade corporate bonds underperformed as spreads 2 widened. Performance Summary Hartford Dynamic Bond Fund (I share) generated positive total returns during the period, driven primarily by duration positioning. The US Treasury yield curve steepened with front-end yields lower as the Fed continued its easing cycle while long dated yields edged higher. Positioning within credit detracted from returns on a credit-excess-returns basis relative to duration-equivalent treasuries. Investment-grade corporate spreads widened modestly, while high yield spreads were little changed. Investment-grade corporates delivered negative excess returns whereas high-yield corporates outperformed duration-equivalent government bonds. Our positioning within investment-grade credit and emerging-market debt generated negative credit excess returns relative to duration-equivalent treasuries during the period. This was somewhat offset by our allocation to high yield, which generated positive credit-excess returns and was additive to performance. Positioning & Outlook The Fund maintains a significant allocation to Treasuries and cash to provide ample liquidity in the current environment. Elevated Treasury yields, historically tight credit spreads, an...
We Must Invest In Civics For America's 250th Authored by Hans Zeiger via RealClearEducation , The second week of March is Civic Learning Week. It’s an annual observance marked by civics advocates with webinars, social media campaigns, and a big conference known as the National Forum, organized by the nonprofit iCivics. This year’s National Forum will take place in Philadelphia, as more than 600 ci...
We Must Invest In Civics For America's 250th Authored by Hans Zeiger via RealClearEducation , The second week of March is Civic Learning Week. It’s an annual observance marked by civics advocates with webinars, social media campaigns, and a big conference known as the National Forum, organized by the nonprofit iCivics. This year’s National Forum will take place in Philadelphia, as more than 600 civics leaders, educators, and students will gather to consider the theme of “Liberty and Learning: Civic Education at 250.” Indeed, this year’s Civic Learning Week is an even bigger deal than usual, as we celebrate the nation’s quarter-millennium anniversary. Civics should be the top item on our national agenda. Civic education should matter to every American. It is more than a set of facts that eighth graders should know for the National Assessment of Educational Progress ( only 22 percent of eighth graders were proficient in civics, and 13 percent were proficient in history in the most recent scoring ). Rather, civic education is best understood as a lifelong commitment to the study and practice of America’s distinctive political tradition of self-government. For all that should give us reason for worry in our country, the good news is that momentum is quickly growing in the movement for what the Princeton-based Institute for Citizens and Scholars calls “ civic preparedness .” At all levels of education, institutions and philanthropists are partnering to support a renewed focus on civics. In the fall, t he U.S. Department of Education awarded more than $153 million to university-based and nonprofit initiatives to design and implement civics literacy programs in K-12 classrooms and to hold seminars for the nation’s teaching force on “primary documents, constitutional study, historical field experiences, civil discourse, and American achievement.” This represents a welcome federal commitment to civic education in the run-up to the 250th celebration. Among the grantees are am...
Japan’s five-year government bond auction drew stronger demand than its 12-month average on receding expectations of a possible rate hike by the Bank of Japan amid ongoing uncertainties surrounding the Iran war. The bid-to-cover ratio at the sale was 3.69 compared with 3.10 at the last auction and a 12-month average of 3.44. Japan’s bond futures pared losses after the auction. The surge in oil pri...
Japan’s five-year government bond auction drew stronger demand than its 12-month average on receding expectations of a possible rate hike by the Bank of Japan amid ongoing uncertainties surrounding the Iran war. The bid-to-cover ratio at the sale was 3.69 compared with 3.10 at the last auction and a 12-month average of 3.44. Japan’s bond futures pared losses after the auction. The surge in oil prices combined with a weakening yen raises the risk that Japan will slide into stagflation, prompting the government to ramp up fiscal spending and complicating moves to tighten by the central bank. The five-year yield, which is sensitive to monetary policy expectations, is trading around 1.64%. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda warned that the Iran conflict could have a major impact on the nation’s economy, suggesting he has little appetite to raise the benchmark rate when the bank delivers its policy decision on March 19. The central bank is still on track to raise interest rates, with the possibility of April not ruled out, as officials continue to monitor the impact of Middle East tensions, according to people familiar with the matter. Overnight index swaps show about a 60% chance of a move by April. A 30-year bond auction last week drew solid demand, underscoring resilient investor appetite despite the war. A 20-year debt sale next week will also be closely watched by investors as they gauge how the Middle East tensions may feed into Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s fiscal agenda.
Kaohsiung and Taichung mayors to embark on separate US visits today Staff writer, with CNA Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) is to lead a city delegation to the US starting today to engage with US industry, government and academia, and enhance the city’s role in the global high-tech supply chain, the city government said yesterday. In a statement, the city government said the trip would focus on ...
Kaohsiung and Taichung mayors to embark on separate US visits today Staff writer, with CNA Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) is to lead a city delegation to the US starting today to engage with US industry, government and academia, and enhance the city’s role in the global high-tech supply chain, the city government said yesterday. In a statement, the city government said the trip would focus on deepening the strategic partnership between Kaohsiung and the state of Arizona, specifically regarding advanced semiconductor manufacturing. The delegation’s first stop is to be Arizona, where they are to meet with various stakeholders to discuss semiconductor and advanced manufacturing cooperation, the statement said. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai is pictured at an event in Kaohsiung yesterday. Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times The second leg of the trip is to take the delegation to San Jose, California, for the annual GPU Technology Conference (GTC) hosted by Nvidia Corp from Monday to Thursday next week, where Chen is expected to meet with company executives to discuss deeper technological cooperation under the “Smart Kaohsiung Lighthouse Project," it said. Chen said Kaohsiung is at a critical juncture in its transformation toward digitalization and net-zero emissions. From the advanced semiconductor processes led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to artificial intelligence applications driven by Nvidia, Kaohsiung has established an indispensable role in the global semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain, he said in the statement. Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow- yen presides over a meeting in Taichung yesterday. Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times During the visit, Chen is to hold discussions with US partners on semiconductor industry resilience, city-level sovereign AI governance and international talent cultivation, with the goal of strengthening Kaohsiung’s position in the global high-tech supply chain, the statement said. Separately, Taichung Ma...
Source: Nintendo Co. Nintendo Co. shares gained as much as 10.5% in their steepest climb since April as the surprise success of its new Pokémon game helped offset worries around rising memory costs. The rally comes as physical copies of Pokémon Pokopia, released exclusively for the Switch 2 console on March 5, have sold out at several major retailers in the US. Most Read from Bloomberg Switch 2 mo...