HIX News and Press, Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc. From 07/01/21

MSCI US REIT Index rallied 2.7% in June, which marks an impressive run of eight consecutive monthly increases. The Russell 3000 Index jumped 2.5% in June, the fifth straight monthly advance. Comparing GMI to US stocks and bonds shows that global asset allocation remains competitiv...

US inflation continued to soar in May, with the Core Consumer Price Index up 0.7% month over month and 3.8% year over year. Fears around rising rates center on the rapidly recovering US economy, which will soon require tapering of purchases in the US Federal Reserve’s quantitat...

Rising Star volume gains momentum as the global economy continues its recovery, which we believe will provide attractive total return opportunity in Fixed Income. Over the course of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted fundamentals and markets, we experienced a new record...

With the economic recovery undeniably ramping up, we ask managers for their thoughts on valuations in the markets. While lockdowns were protracted affairs for so many of us, the economic recovery has been astoundingly rapid in many parts of the world. Regardless of the shift in to...

The question is - given the low in March ’09 and the previous highs exceeded in late April ’13 - is the secular bull market 13 years old or just a little over 8 years old, and does it matter? Not only are the S&P 500 and Nasdaq bumping all-time highs, but Europe and ...

US high yield bond spreads are near historical lows amid a strong macro backdrop. The Fed’s future actions could put upward pressure on the US HY OAS, but we believe that to be a ways off. Investor allocations to HY bond funds are subdued. Excessive optimism isn’t ap...

This morning we learned that US retail spending fell 1.3% in May (more than the -.80 expected). Commodities have been sensing the shift, with the price of many key inputs like lumber (-42%), steel rebar (-18%) and copper (-9%) down sharply from recent peaks. Increases in oil, gas ...

On the surface, conditions in the US look pretty fantastic these days. Prices for lots of goods and services are soaring. Job openings are at record highs. Does the historically low level of real risk-free yields on TIPS suggest that US economic growth will be anemic at best for as fa...

Over the past year, a surge of investors drove high-yield bond prices back to pre-pandemic levels. The potential for a double-dip should increase insurance companies’ appetite for juicier high-yield offerings. While high yield improved its lot through the pandemic, some inv...

Risk-adjusted performance for the Global Market Index (GMI) continued to tick higher in May. GMI’s Sharpe ratio — a measure of risk-adjusted return – rose to 0.82 on a trailing 10-year basis through last month. That’s close to a pandemic high, but still...