Anchors Aweigh | June 2024

“60 percent of the time, it works every time.” Brian Fantana in Anchorman Of the many cognitive biases, the ‘anchoring effect’ is often cited as one of the most important and common.  It is our tendency to overemphasize a reference point or initial piece of...

The First Cut Is The Deepest | May 2024

“Let’s enjoy the moment.” Tiff Macklem Last week, the Bank of Canada (BoC) became the first of the G7 central banks to cut rates, lowering the overnight level from 5% to 4.75%.  The decision was widely anticipated (i.e., 80%) and one we think was relatively easy for...

Moving Targets | April 2024

The archer who misses his mark does not blame the target. He stops, corrects himself, and shoots again.’ Confucius This time last year, we expressed our view that the neutral rate of interest (i.e., the level that is neither restrictive nor accommodating) was higher...

The Bucket List Revisited | March 2024

‘I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.’ Susan Sontag As bond nerds, we are constantly engaged in discussions with allocators and investors about their fixed-income portfolios.  Three years ago, when interest rates were close to zero, these conversations were...

How Low Will They Go? | February 2024

Shemika Campbell holds the word limbo record at an astonishing 21.59 cm (8.5 inches). The Guinness Book Barring a reacceleration of inflation, it seems safe to assume that we have seen the last of the interest rate hikes in this cycle.  Both Governor Macklem and...

The Immaculate Disinflation | January 2024

“It’s a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Winston Churchill We have long maintained that inflation is a complex and mysterious beast.  With so many moving parts, it is nearly impossible to model and predict. A task made even more difficult these...