The latest private sector employment report came in far above consensus forecasts, suggesting persistent inflationary forces and more pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep cooling the economy aggressively. Payroll processor ADP reported on Mar. 8 that U.S. private employment increased by 242,000 jobs last month, considerably higher than consensus forecasts of 200,000 positions. Also,…

Commentary The Federal Reserve is on the cusp of making its biggest policy mistake in modern times and it is seemingly unaware of the damage it is about to cause. Despite appearances of a robust labor market, rising corporate profits, and high asset prices, the underlying economy is rather weak. For many Americans, high inflation…

Commentary It’s the forgotten “master of the investing universe.” Once the most important market on the planet. I’m talking about the U.S. Treasury market. U.S. Treasuries have, for decades, been considered the safest, most reliable market in the world. So much so, the yields treasuries paid were referred to as the “risk-free” rate of interest….

Stocks fell and bond yields rose Monday, extending the market’s pullback last week, as investors shifted holdings in anticipation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year in its bid to lower inflation. The selling was broad, though by late afternoon the indexes had come above their lows from earlier in the day….

TOKYO—Asian shares sank in cautious trading Tuesday following a decline on Wall Street amid continuing worries about the Omicron coronavirus variant, especially rising cases in China. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 percent in morning trading to 28,242.46. South Korea’s Kospi was little changed at 2,926.01. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.8 percent to 7,391.50. Hong…

Mortgage rates ticked up this week following six weeks of declines, according to a Thursday report by mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, which linked the gains to strong labor market and earnings data. The average rate for the 30-year mortgage jumped by 10 basis points to 2.87 percent from 2.77 percent last week, the report showed….

WASHINGTON—Rising bond yields caused a market panic recently and sparked a sell-off in the stock market. While yields are still at historically low levels, investors worry that a sharp move in yields could be a sign of trouble. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose this month to as high as 1.73 percent, up from 0.89 percent…

Commentary Ned Davis Research estimates that a 2 percent yield in the U.S. 10-year bond could lead the Nasdaq to fall 20 percent, and with it the entire stock market globally. A 2 percent yield can cause such disruption? How did we get to such a situation? Central banks have artificially depressed sovereign bond yields…