There’s a really stunning report out from the Journal last night. Corporate bonds at some of America’s top-rated companies are now trading at a yield discount to Treasuries. This isn’t quite the same as investors thinking US corporate debt is safer over time. It’s focused on the what happens over the next few months rather than where you put money over time. But it’s still a stunning development, cutting at the very architecture of the world financial system and the United States’ position as its gravitational center.
To put it in layman’s terms, if you need a place to put money over the course of this summer and you need it to be as safe as possible investors are deciding Microsoft’s corporate bonds are more attractive than bonds issued by the US Treasury.
It’s a clarifying perspective on the impact of GOP extremism and nihilism on the nation’s finances and global power.