Fed may have to act to avoid 'taper tantrum' repeat; gold price slides

Welcome to The Daily Intel, a roundup of exclusive news and analysis from S&P Global Market Intelligence, curated by our journalists.

Editor's Pick

Fed may be forced into action to avoid repeat of 2013's 'taper tantrum'

The Federal Reserve may be forced to exercise some form of yield curve control if the spike in U.S. Treasury yields is renewed, as investors bet that the central bank is underestimating the potential for inflation to rise.

"If market technicals push yields higher and central bank comments fail to calm price action, then we could be in for another bumpy March," said Mark Dowding, chief information officer at BlueBay Asset Management. A rapid rise in yields towards 1.75% on the 10-year U.S. Treasury could spark a drop in the S&P 500 of 5% and a spike in yields in corporate bonds and emerging markets, according to Dowding.

Financials

Larger bank acquirers coming back to the negotiating table

More large regional banks are pursuing sizable banks and receiving investor support for the transactions. The push for scale and support by the Street seems to set the stage for more big bank M&A.

Public banking initiatives picking up steam across several states

Several states have proposed legislation to study or implement public banks, following examples from California and North Dakota.

Energy & Utilities

Natural gas supplies 40% of US power generation in 2020

Full-year 2020 generation for the U.S. was at 4.01 billion MWh, down nearly 3% from the previous year, with gas-fired resources providing the largest share, at 40%.

Materials

Gold price slides amid higher bond yields, stronger US dollar

After breaking through $2,000 per ounce in the summer of 2020, gold prices have pulled back substantially and have drifted closer to $1,700/oz in recent weeks.

TMT

LatAm box office revenue drops to $1.5M in January

Mexico contributed the highest January box office revenues in Latin America with $1.1 million.

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