Morning Brief – US Treasury Bonds

US Treasury Bonds

With $34 trillion of debt the US Government has to run fast to keep up as it keeps increasing given the cost of re-financing the debt.  This week the US has auctioned $61 billion of 5 year debt and $ 60 billion of 2 year debt. In April the USA is looking to raise $70 billion of 5 year debt. For now demand is there and investors reckon they are being paid properly. Watch this space as cutting interest rates too much may change that perception.
5 years yielding 4.04%.

Square Mile

For readers who have not visited the City of London for a couple of years, they might be quite surprised to see wide pavements, granite benches outside Mansion House and hardly any traffic. Between the City of London Corporation and Mayor Khan they have achieved daily and nightly gridlock as East West traffic is funnelled to Lower Thames Street. Well intentioned? Maybe. Naïve for sure. Has it improved life for City workers? No. Try getting a taxi or an Uber. As for those benches, they are unused.
GBP/ USD 1.2700.

Icon of the Seas

Royal Caribbean now holds the title of owning the world’s largest cruise ship: 365 meters long. 7600 passengers plus 2350 crew. 8 neighbourhoods. With 20 decks and 40 restaurants, by any stretch of the imagination the Icon of the Seas is a monster. 
EUR/USD 1.0855.

Fleximan

If you live in Italy you will be following urban hero Fleximan who has taken it upon himself to destroy as many of Italy’s speed cameras with an angle grinder as possible. So far he has knocked out 15 but the net is closing in. So far Fleximan has concentrated on the North East and the Veneto in particular. Needless to say Fleximan is popular with everyone except with motorway police who are seeing a lucrative source of income much reduced.
EUR/JPY 160.78.

Crocodile Rock

It’s brutal out there in the world of rock and pop on occasion, and no time less so than during an exchange at half time at the Super Bowl this day in 2012. Elton John encouraged fellow singer Madonna as follows: “Make sure you lip-sync good. Of course you have to play live, but I don’t think you can.” The less than gallant Sir Elton has been consistent in his sledging of Madonna over the years, but to her eternal credit, Madonna has refused the many opportunities she has had to retaliate:

I remember when rock was young
Me and Susie had so much fun
Holding hands and skimming stones
Had an old gold Chevy, and a place of my own

But the biggest kick I ever got
Was doing a thing called the Crocodile Rock
While the other kids were rocking ’round the clock
We were hopping and bopping to the Crocodile Rock, well

Crocodile rocking is something shocking
When your feet just can’t keep still
I never knew me a better time and I guess I never will
Oh, lawdy mama those Friday nights
When Suzie wore her dresses tight
And the Crocodile rocking was out of sight

Laa, la-la-la-la-laa
La-la-la-la-laa
La-la-la-la-laa

But the years went by and the rock just died
Suzie went and left me for some foreign guy
Long nights crying by the record machine
Dreaming of my Chevy and old blue jeans

But they’ll never kill the thrills we’ve got
Burning up to the Crocodile Rock
Learning fast as the weeks went past
We really thought the Crocodile Rock would last, well

Crocodile rocking is something shocking
When your feet just can’t keep still
I never knew me a better time and I guess, I never will
Oh, lawdy mama those Friday nights
When Suzie wore her dresses tight
Crocodile rocking was out of sight

Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder

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