Posted by Davy on February 10th, 2009 in Market Commentary, Worth Reading (links to articles, etc.)
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Ok, maybe nothing so dramatic as the title suggests but one does get a decidedly different slant between the two papers’ morning coverage of the recent rise in the 10-year Treasury yield.

The Journal sees the dawn of a new day, apparently, as the two articles discussing the Treasury market have an unmistakably positive tone.  The authors cite growing enthusiasm for risk appetite, the re-emergence of inflation worries and the Fed’s hints at buying Treasuries as reasons for optimism.

Over at the FT, John Authers and guest columnist, Stephen Lewis, focus on possible worrying factors causing the Treasury sell-off.  Specifically, they caution on investors may be losing faith in the US government as well as rising costs to fund federal spending. Lewis warns that the Fed may find itself buying more Treasuries than planned in order to buoy struggling mortgage and other credit markets.

I lean more toward the FT on this debate. In fact, the WSJ slant borders on cheerleading and does nothing to dispel a sense that they may have ulterior motives in their reporting (i.e. whispers that hedgies often use channels like the Journal and Barron’s to push positions for their benefit).

Read the articles for yourself:

WSJ:

• The 10-Year Note, Rising Yields And Reasons for Investor Optimism
• Rising Yields’ Positive Side

FT:

• John Authers’ The Short View
• View of the Day: Stephen Lewis