Bond Bulls Give Holiday Thanks: At Least We’re Not Stock Bulls
- Fixed-income bulls energized by higher rates heading into 2023
- Recession fears, still-high earnings estimates threaten stocks
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Wounds are running deep in fixed income after the worst year for bond bulls in a generation. Deep enough to spring a recovery? Beset with bleak alternatives, some investors are finding the courage to say yes.
Particularly when the main alternative is stocks, whose fortunes have lately begun to veer noticeably from their stodgier brethren — equities’ performance versus Treasuries in December is the worst for any month in two years. As recession clouds gather amid signs inflation may have peaked, safe yields approaching 4% on a swathe of government securities and 5% for blue-chip corporate debt strike many managers as decent value in a world bathed in uncertainty.