Good Monday Morning from your Hometown Lender,

There is nothing on today’s economic calendar but this is going to be a busy week.

Fed Chairman Powell testifies in congress Wednesday on the state of the economy and then several top tier data sets culminating with the Jobs report, Friday. Markets are leaking a bit (not un-expected) hedging against anything Mr. Powell might say or any outsized economic data report.

There was a good piece today from the WSJ on the markets expectation for interest rates.

Traders Bet More Aggressively Ahead of Economic Data

Bond traders are laying down wagers hours ahead of key readings on the U.S. economy, a sign of confidence that they know how new data will shift markets.

After the pandemic’s disruptions and the Federal Reserve’s fastest interest-rate hiking campaign in decades, many now feel like they know which way the central bank and the economy are generally headed. Investors expect the Fed to begin trimming interest rates later this year, so the data mostly shifts their expectations for when.

Highly traded futures markets tied to U.S. Treasurys are posting sharp moves leading up to major reports on jobs, inflation and economic growth, according to an analysis of trading since the start of 2022 prepared for The Wall Street Journal by Alexander Kurov, professor of finance at West Virginia University.

Please stay safe and healthy, make today great!