After wrapping up the market and macro news of Oct. 4-10, Jeff Mayberry and Samuel Lau explain Triple Witching Hour and its cousins: the Double Witching Hour and the erstwhile Quadruple Witching Hour (13:02). The week of Oct. 4-8 brought with it temporary action to fund the federal government, averting the possibility, however remote, of a default by the U.S. Treasury on its obligations. The podcast hosts, speaking intraday before the close, discuss a breakout above 1.50% for the 10-year Treasury yield (2:18), although Jeff points out that the 10-year bond has a way to go before reaching 1.74%, its high for calendar year 2021. The podcast hosts note the T-bill market’s response to the debt ceiling theatrics (7:34). 

A mixed bag of positive and disappointing news on the jobs and unemployment front (8:24) had Jeff and Sam asking about the implications for a possible tapering of asset purchases by the Federal Reserve. Looking ahead, for the week of Oct. 11-15, among other data points, Jeff and Sam will be looking for how the Consumer Price Index for September compares to expectations of a year-over-year rise of 8.8% and what is to be gleaned from the release of the next batch of FOMC minutes.

MMM Episode 36: T-bills Handicapping Congress, a 10-Year Breakout and Triple Witching Hours

Monday Morning Minutes