Central Bankers Are Blowing Up Macro Hedge Funds

Some of the most storied names in the hedge fund firmament are nursing staggering losses after bond yields whipsawed in recent weeks. Central bankers would do well to acknowledge that market dislocation doesn’t just afflict financial players; with borrowing costs generally jumping around in a haphazard fashion, their recent communications failures pose real risks to the real economy.

Disorder abounds across fixed-income markets. Benchmark government debt yields surged in recent weeks, only to abate either back to where they were at the start of last month or even lower in the case of U.K. and Germany. Yield curves have changed shape in dramatic fashion, with disjointed moves at the short end and the long end. When adjusted for inflation, rates in several markets and at several maturities are at record lows.