The bond market’s balancing act is perfectly normal

REMEMBER when near-zero interest rates squeezed retirees on fixed incomes and left pensions with huge shortfalls? I suspect they are happy to see US interest rates returning to normal.

Yes, balance is being restored to bond markets after an unusually long period of unusually low interest rates.

Short-term rates, which are mainly an inflation gauge, are only slightly elevated because inflation is running a bit hot. Long-term rates, which build on short-term rates, are also roughly where they ought to be.