Negative Yields Mount Along With Europes Problems
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Negative-yielding government bonds have surged 21% since October to $13tn, reflecting waning economic confidence in Europe and Japan. @TheRealDFK
Daniel Kruger, "Negative Yields Mount Along With Europe’s Problems,"Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/negative-yields-mount-along-with-europes-problems-11550491201
Negative Yields Mount Along With Europe’s Problems
Investors around the globe are effectively paying governments to hold more than $11 trillion of their bonds, a fresh sign of ebbing economic confidence in Europe and Japan.
Negative-yielding government bonds outstanding through mid-January have risen 21% since October, reversing a steady decline that took place over the course of 2017 and much of last year, according to data from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. While the stock of negative-yielding debt still remains below its 2016 high, the proliferation of these bonds—which guarantee that a purchaser at issuance will receive less in repayment and periodic interest than they paid—underscores the uncertainty over the growth prospects in much of the developed world.
“Europe is an absolute quagmire,” said Matt Freund, co-chief investment officer at Calamos Investments. “There are significant headwinds that we’ve been talking about for a long time—now they’re showing up in the numbers.”
Negative yields have become increasingly common as growth in the region continues to slow. The European Central Bank ended its bond purchase program in December, potentially adding to economic slowdown concerns, and Germany, France and Italy disagree over added fiscal stimulus.
Investors are buying five-year German debt, sending yields down to about -0.4% from 0.03% in April, while in many cases avoiding similar-maturity Italian securities, which yield about 1.8%, versus roughly 0.6% during the same period.
Negative-yield debt hit a peak of roughly $13 trillion in 2016, according to Bank of America. Until recently it had been declining as the eurozone economy accelerated amid growing exports. The amount of negative-yielding bonds in the region first began growing substantially in 2014.
The ECB is examining reviving a program of lending to banks that analysts say could give a small boost to the economy without suggesting a turn away from the goal of normalizing policy. ECB President Mario Draghi’s term expires in October, leaving officials handcuffed by his departure, said Laura Sarlo, a sovereign-debt analyst at Loomis Sayles & Co.
At the same time, tensions are rising within Germany and France as populist movements have undermined the power of governing coalitions. That same populism has also set countries against each other, as Italy has sought EU permission to increase government spending to stimulate growth while Germany and France have tried to block that move.
The European Central Bank is examining reviving a program of lending to banks that analysts say could give a small boost to the eurozone.
“Europe cannot figure it out,” said Simona Mocuta, an economist at State Street Global Advisors. By deciding to restrict growth measures to central bank rate cuts, “you have this effect on rates, but it’s not giving you the real-economy response.“
The ECB first lowered its deposit facility rate below zero in June 2014, and has lowered it three times since, most recently to -0.4% in March 2016. The policy was intended to dissuade businesses and consumers from keeping money idle in the bank, and instead encourage more consumption and investment.
Many investors buy the debt simply because they have to. Insurance companies need bonds to ensure they can align maturing assets with expected liabilities. Many mutual funds buy the debt because they follow an index that includes the securities. Holding bonds with negative yields can also be a more palatable option for institutional investors who face a surcharge of 0.1% on cash for simply keeping deposits in a bank.
While investors who buy at current prices stand to lose money if they hold negative-yield bonds to maturity, they can be traded profitably, said John Taylor, a London-based bond manager at AllianceBernstein who has purchased five-year sovereign debt from Austria and Finland with negative yields.
Low returns on bond portfolios send investors a message that their retirement savings aren’t growing enough to meet their needs, causing them to save more and spend less, Mr. Taylor said. That is important because it suggests the policy isn’t working as intended and could lead to a deeper slowdown. The longer negative rates are in place, “the more it changes people’s behaviors,” he said.