The Fed Rate Cut Drives Up Long-Term Yields

In September of 2024, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50-points. Long-term yields went up.

The bond market reaction revealed something new to us.

Gone are the days (1999) when a Time headline proclaimed that Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers could save the markets as part of a Committee to Save the World.

The Fed can only lower the Federal Funds Rate — the rate that determines the annual interest rate on overnight deposits between banks and the central bank.

Unlike the dotcom boom and bust, the Fed and Treasury today have to deal with a higher debt-to-GDP ratio and (farther) out-of-control deficit spending.

Bond investors know the game.

So… it’s no surprise, really, that last year’s trend is on repeat, despite the much-bally-hooed rate cut last week:

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Following the Fed’s rate cut last week, bond traders pushed up yields on the 30-year
Treasury from 4.65% to 4.76%. (Source: CNBC)

For now, short-term investors — think money market and savings accounts — will see a drop in their yields.

But… despite Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s best efforts to finance the US government’s mounting pile of debt… longer-dated bonds are offering even higher yields.

For savers, there’s an option to grab those high yields while you can.

~ Addison

P.S.While the bond market is continuing to fight the Fed, defensive asset classes are taking off. Gold is well over $3,700 per ounce. Silver has topped $43 and may be on its way to retest its old highs at $48.

Plus, commodities such as uranium are breaking out after consolidating over the summer, and copper remains near highs. There’s still room for the commodity space to run.

This week on Grey Swan Live!, Portfolio Director Andrew Packer and contributor Shad Marquitz will review the latest developments in the commodity space and determine the best commodity plays through the end of 2025 and into 2026.

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If you have any questions for us about the market, send them our way now to: feedback@greyswanfraternity.com.

In September of 2024, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50-points. Long-term yields went up.

The bond market reaction revealed something new to us.

Gone are the days (1999) when a Time headline proclaimed that Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers could save the markets as part of a Committee to Save the World.

The Fed can only lower the Federal Funds Rate — the rate that determines the annual interest rate on overnight deposits between banks and the central bank.

Unlike the dotcom boom and bust, the Fed and Treasury today have to deal with a higher debt-to-GDP ratio and (farther) out-of-control deficit spending.

Bond investors know the game.

So… it’s no surprise, really, that last year’s trend is on repeat, despite the much-bally-hooed rate cut last week:

Turn Your Images On

Following the Fed’s rate cut last week, bond traders pushed up yields on the 30-year
Treasury from 4.65% to 4.76%. (Source: CNBC)

For now, short-term investors — think money market and savings accounts — will see a drop in their yields.

But… despite Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s best efforts to finance the US government’s mounting pile of debt… longer-dated bonds are offering even higher yields.

For savers, there’s an option to grab those high yields while you can.

~ Addison

Plus, commodities such as uranium are breaking out after consolidating over the summer, and copper remains near highs. There’s still room for the commodity space to run.

Turn Your Images On

If you have any questions for us about the market, send them our way now to: feedback@greyswanfraternity.com.

The Nasdaq logged its fourth straight down week, pulled lower by the “SaaSpocalypse” in software.

Goldman Sachs’ Software Basket fell 16% for the week. Hedge fund exposure to software shrank sharply, according to Prime Book data.

Lou Miller, Goldman’s global head of Equity Custom Baskets, told clients that buyers remained scarce even as the group entered oversold territory.

In the late 1990s, telecom infrastructure outpaced demand, pricing compressed, and equity valuations adjusted long before usage caught up.

Today’s AI buildout carries healthier balance sheets and real utility, yet capital intensity remains high, and patience wears thin when returns depend on perfect adoption curves.

The week’s trading revealed that a rotation out of high-flying tech into defensive names is well underway. The Dow, which includes broader, non-tech-related stocks, is starting the week above 50,000 for the first time in its history.

The most important moment in finance this week didn’t happen in a committee room or on cable television. It took place over coffee last week in Davos.

Brian Armstrong, the founder and CEO of Coinbase, was mid-conversation with former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair when Jamie Dimon stepped in, pointed a finger, and said, “You are full of s—.”

Dimon wasn’t debating crypto theory. He was defending deposits.

Armstrong had spent the week accusing large banks of leaning on lawmakers to kneecap digital-asset legislation that threatens their core franchise. Dimon, whose firm sits atop the U.S. deposit pile, heard enough. According to people familiar with the exchange, he told Armstrong to stop lying on television.

Bitcoin is now selling off at a pace last seen at bear-market bottoms in 2018 and 2022.

Our trading channel was buzzing yesterday. Traders are actively seeking the bottom and trying to plot a way back in!

Indeed, bitcoin is rebounding and back up to $68,000 in today’s trading. Nail-biting stuff.