Our Bond Shorts Are At Risk

Our Bond Shorts are at Risk, thanks to a US Budget Deficit in Free Fall. I shall mourn this development as the loss of a close relative, particularly a rich uncle who writes me a check once a month, as selling short bonds and betting that interest rates will rise has been a huge moneymaker for me for years.

Since November, we have captured an eye-popping $42 points of downside in the United States Treasury Bond Fund (TLT). In two years, we have seized a mind-blowing $67 points. Don’t thank me, I’m just doing what you paid me to do.

While Trump was president, the national debt exploded by $4 trillion, a dream come true for bond short sellers. Trump spent a lifetime sticking lenders with hefty bills and the US government is no exception.

But all good things must come to an end. Since Biden became president, the annual budget deficit has vaporized, from $3.1 trillion in Trump's final year to a mere $360 billion for the first seven months of fiscal 2022, and we could approach zero by yearend.

An exploding economy and record employment have sent tax revenues soaring. The unemployment rate has shrunk from 25% to 3.6%. And taxpayers still had to pay a gigantic bill for last year’s monster capital gains in the stock market.

Covid spending, in the hundreds of billions last year, has been whittled down to near nothing. Biden has also been unable to get many spending bills through the Senate, where he lacks a clear majority.

Pare down government spending in a major way and you get new support for the bond market, the first since Clinton balanced the budget in 1999. Some investors are wondering if the 3.12% peak for the ten-year US Treasury bond seen last week could even be the top for this cycle. With the futures market already pricing in a 200 basis points in rate hikes this year, it’s entirely plausible.

I think we may have a shot at a 3.50% yield by next year. That equates to a (TLT) of around $100. But let’s face it, we are approaching the tag ends of this trade. Time to find better fish to fry. NVIDIA (NVDA) at $120 or Apple (AAPL) at $135 anyone?

We are seeing the same scenario play out at the state level. California saw a staggering $75 billion surplus last year. Among the luxuries Sacramento is considering are gas tax rebates for California drivers, undergrounding 20,000 miles of powerlines to prevent wildfires, and construction of a second transbay BART line.

Of course, all of this surplus wealth is temporary, as it always is. But “Laissez le bon temps roller.”