The major market surprise of 2014 so far has been the extent of investors' appetite for yield in the developed fixed income markets. It has been quite spectacular. The Eurozone in particular has been a key beneficiary of this trend. We've seen German government bond yields hit a low not seen in almost a year, but the real action has taken place in the periphery bonds. We are seeing multi-year and even all-time lows in government bond yields.
And this trend is not limited to sovereign paper. European corporate high yield bonds are now yielding just over 3.6% on average - a record low. Let's just put this in perspective - this is sub-investment-grade paper trading at these levels.
While European fixed income markets clearly feel frothy, it is not clear if there is a near-term catalyst to bring about a correction. With the Eurozone inflation still MIA, capital seems to be chasing anything with a reasonable yield. The shift in attitudes from just two years ago is unprecedented.
Bloomberg: - “We’re still in a world where investors are starved of return,” said John Wraith, a fixed-income strategist at Bank of America Corp. in London. “People are still happy to diversify their holdings and buy bonds that not so long ago they would have shied away from. The slightly better data helps reassure people that finally some of these weaker countries are turning a corner.”