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While the Riksbank left its repo rate unchanged at -0.5%, as expected, in its decision this morning, far more interesting was the Riksbank's decision to formally end making new bond purchases, i.e., QE, after almost three years. However, in order to ensure a smooth transition, the Riksbank said the end of QE would take place in the most dovish way possible and the central bank would continue reinvesting maturing bonds and coupons, and also announced that it will bring forward some of the large 2019 redemptions, which it will reinvet in 2018.

Dow futures are up some 80 points this morning after early on Wednesday morning the Senate passed the Tax Reform bill in a party-line vote, and is now set to become law after a follow-up vote in the House and Trump's signature some time on Wednesday afternoon. The good news is that the biggest political drama of 2017 will then be over. The bad news is that once the bill becomes law, the market will no longer be able to "price it in" every single day as it has for the past year.

Yesterday we observed the biggest 2-day steepening in the 2s30s yield curve since the Trump election, following a confluence of events which we discussed in this post, and which resulted in a generous payday for at least one rates trader.

So has the long-awaited moment of a long-end selloff arrived? Or, as SocGen's FX strategist, Kit Juckes, put it, are "Bonds on the run?" Maybe not so fast, especially since much of the recent increase in yields has been for breakevens. Here are his thoughts.

Bonds on the Run?

 

Authored by Lew Rockwell via Mises Canada,

As the financial crisis of 2008 took shape, the policy recommendations were not slow in coming: why, economic stability and American prosperity demand fiscal and monetary stimulus to jump-start the sick economy back to life. And so we got fiscal stimulus, as well as a program of monetary expansion without precedent in US history.

Authored by Wip via Jim Quinn's Burning Platform blog,

It’s hard to think of something so complicated that has become so popular as fast as bitcoin.