October’s roller coaster of volatility saw something that doesn’t happen often–both stocks and bonds going on the same ride as the correlation between the two saw bond prices fall with U.S. equities as government yields rose. All in all, the activity in the bond market signaled to Canadian businessman and “Shark Tank” television personality Kevin O’Leary that October’s correction is more than a flash in the pan.
“I’m a bond guy,” said O’Leary on CNBC. “And a correction isn’t over until the bond lady sings.”
“And she’s not singing yet,” O’Leary added. “The BBB, BB, B complex–remember, most of these companies, the large cap ones, issue debt up their balance sheets and if you thought they couldn’t pay back that debt when these 36 months and four-year and five-year periods end because all this debt is coming due within seven years.
“If you really thought they couldn’t pay it back, you would’ve had a blowout in the credit markets–the B, BB, BBB markets. And they’ve barely moved so this correction is not over yet. I like it when the bonds are just blown out, then I know the toilet is flushed on the equity markets.”
O’Leary is keeping a watchful eye, specifically, on large cap companies that are brimming with debt due in the near-term. O’Leary also told CNBC that he expects bond yields to jump another 200 basis points, which would, in turn, signal that buying opportunities are abound in both the bond and stock market.