Eurozone Bond Yields Edge Up, Reversing Monday's Falls
0616 GMT – The U.S. Treasury yield curve has steepened recently, but it still isn't steep by historical standards, say LPL Financial's LPLA -3.49%decrease; red down pointing triangle Lawrence Gillum and Adam Turnquist in a note. Historically, the difference between the two- and 10-year Treasury yields is close to 100 basis points, albeit with a lot of variability, the strategists say. 'The 2-year/10-year spread is only at +0.55%, so we think the curve could further steepen throughout the year,' they say. Given this spread but with five times the interest rate risk, 'it doesn't make a lot of sense, in our view, to extend duration within portfolios.' The two-year Treasury yield last is up 1 basis point at 3.861%; the 10-year yield rises 1.3 basis points to 4.381%, according to Tradeweb. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)
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Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Watchdog Says IRS Could Do Better Reporting Telephone Service And Wait Times
If you've ever called the IRS, you know that getting through on the phone can be a real challenge. A recent report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found that it's not in your head—the data bears out that there is room for improvement. getty If you've ever called the IRS, you know that getting through on the phone can be a real challenge. A recent report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) evaluated the IRS's efforts to improve telephone access and reduce taxpayer wait times when calling for assistance. Their findings? It's not in your head—the data bears out that there is room for improvement and that the IRS could make that more clear in its reporting. According to TIGTA, IRS telephone assistors answered over 30 million calls in fiscal year 2024 on its toll-free and international lines. When taxpayers call the IRS, they can get answers to federal tax questions, order tax forms, listen to pre-recorded messages on various tax topics, obtaining updates on refund status, and obtain more information about letters or notices. However, taxpayers who can't get through on the phone in a reasonable time may get frustrated and hang up without a resolution. In August 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), providing approximately $80 billion in IRA funding to be used to improve taxpayer services, modernization, and enforcement. A key initiative of the IRA was to improve the level of service (LOS) that taxpayers receive when calling IRS telephone lines. The LOS refers to how efficiently telephone systems manage incoming calls, specifically measuring how quickly a caller can reach a representative. A high LOS indicates effective call handling, while a low LOS reflects longer wait times. According to the IRS, the LOS measures the ability of a taxpayer to reach a telephone assistor when requested. For the 2022 tax filing season, the IRS reported a 15% LOS and an average wait time of 28 minutes. For the following tax filing season, the Treasury Secretary set an expectation that the IRS would provide an 85% LOS and reduce average wait times to less than 15 minutes. In April 2023, the IRS reported that it had achieved that LOS goal and reported average wait times of four minutes. For the 2024 tax filing season, the Treasury Secretary again set a goal of achieving an 85% LOS and average wait times of less than five minutes. The IRS reported that it achieved both of those goals, likely thanks to the addition of 5,000 new telephone assistors. As of March 2025, Congress had reduced the available IRA funding awarded to the IRS to just $37.6 billion (down from the initial $80 billion over ten years). Personnel cuts happened at the IRS, too, with nearly a quarter of the IRS workforce leaving or planning to leave by September. Included in that number? Approximately 23% of those in customer service representative positions. However, employees who planned to separate but worked in 'critical filing season positions' were required to work until at least May 15, 2025. That meant good news for taxpayers—as of March 1, 2025, the IRS reported similar levels of service for the 2025 filing season as it had for the 2024 filing season. TIGTA Findings On IRS Phone Service For the 2024 tax filing season, the IRS reported an LOS of 88% and wait times averaging three minutes. However, that only covered calls made to 33 Accounts Management (AM) telephone lines during the tax filing season. AM assistors are responsible for handling taxpayer inquiries and issues related to tax accounts. These lines handled about two-thirds of all calls answered by IRS assistors. The IRS separately monitors an Enterprise LOS, which includes 27 telephone lines from other IRS units in addition to the 33 AM telephone lines. These 27 lines handled about one-third of all calls answered by IRS telephone assistors. The reported average wait time calculation from the IRS only includes the 33 AM telephone lines. According to IRS data, the average wait times for the other lines were significantly longer than three minutes, averaging between 17 and 19 minutes during the 2024 tax filing season. TIGTA says millions of taxpayers are unable to obtain assistance from the IRS on the telephone due to technical difficulties, busy telephone lines, and other issues—an issue that has plagued taxpayers for years. In November 2023, TIGTA reported that 21 telephone lines that offered live assistance placed test callers on hold for more than 30 minutes and never connected them to a telephone assistor before the test callers terminated the call. In February 2025, TIGTA issued a follow-up report noting that their call evaluators experienced wait times of 30 minutes or more on 18 telephone lines. Because of the high demand for service during the tax filing season, the IRS temporarily reassigns employees from other job responsibilities to answer calls—this happens every year. This boost has a side effect of helping to improve the average reported wait time and LOS during the tax filing season. However, similar telephone service measures for the entire year are not widely reported and vary considerably. For example, the LOS for AM ranged from a low of 48% in June 2024 to a high of 92% in January 2024. Similarly, the Enterprise LOS ranged from a low of 45% in June 2024 to a high of 77% in February 2024. What TIGTA Recommended (IRS Issued A Polite No Thank You) TIGTA recommended the IRS should update its metrics to reflect a wider range of data—including those average wait times outside of the tax filing season. That's because, TIGTA notes, if a taxpayer anticipates spending an average of three minutes on the phone, they may become frustrated and hang up as the wait time increases. Transparency, TIGTA maintains, is critical for the IRS to maintain public confidence and compliance with the tax laws. (According to Joint Operations Center management, Enterprise LOS and average wait times are monitored throughout the year, but they are not included with the AM LOS and average wait times that are reported.) TIGTA isn't alone in its assessment. The National Taxpayer Advocate recently reported that the AM LOS is 'materially misleading' to stakeholders and that 'the IRS should replace its benchmark 'Level of Service' performance measure for telephone service, as it does not reflect the taxpayer experience, and it produces inappropriate priorities and a misallocation of resources.' The IRS disagreed with TIGTA's recommendations, stating, among other things, that including wait times for telephone lines outside the main helpline, would be confusing to the public. TIGTA TIGTA was established in January 1999 by the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 to provide independent oversight of IRS activities. Today, TIGTA provides audit, investigative, and evaluation services to promote integrity, efficiency, and economy in the administration of the nation's tax system. While TIGTA sits organizationally within the Department of the Treasury and reports to the Secretary of the Treasury and Congress, the agency is considered to be independent. You can read the TIGTA report here. Forbes IRS Kiosks, Intended To Offer A Self-Serve Option For Taxpayers, Are Outdated And Broken By Kelly Phillips Erb Forbes Government Watchdog Confirms Mass Exodus Of IRS Employees—More Cuts Are Expected By Kelly Phillips Erb Forbes How Much Money Has The IRS Spent This Year? By Kelly Phillips Erb Forbes Taxpayer Advocate Calls 2025 Filing Season A Success But Waves Warning Flag On Cuts By Kelly Phillips Erb
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Dollar Moves Lower with T-Note Yields
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In addition, the dollar has support due to speculation that last week's stronger-than-expected July PPI report could keep the Fed from cutting interest rates at next month's FOMC meeting, as expectations for a -25 bp Fed rate cut in September fell to 84% area from 93% before the report. More News from Barchart What Will Powell Reveal About Interest Rate Cuts on August 22? And How Will Markets React? Dollar Recovers as Stocks Falter Signs of Peace Progress in Ukraine Boosts the Euro and Weighs on the Dollar Get exclusive insights with the FREE Barchart Brief newsletter. Subscribe now for quick, incisive midday market analysis you won't find anywhere else. Wednesday's minutes of the July 29-30 FMC meeting were hawkish and supportive of the dollar. The minutes showed that most policymakers judged the upside risk to inflation as a greater risk than weaker employment, saying the labor market was 'solid' but inflation remained 'somewhat elevated.' Federal funds futures prices are discounting the chances for a -25 bp rate cut at 84% at the September 16-17 FOMC meeting and at 55% for a second -25 bp rate cut at the following meeting on October 28-29. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) on Wednesday rose by +0.08%. The euro recovered from a 1-week low on Wednesday and posted modest gains after the dollar retreated when President Trump said Fed Governor Lisa Cook 'must resign' now due to allegations of mortgage fraud. The euro initially moved lower on Wednesday on comments from ECB President Lagarde, who said the Eurozone economy is likely to see slower growth this quarter, with questions over global trade remaining despite recent trade deals with the US reducing uncertainty. President Trump is pushing for a summit between Presidents Putin and Zelenskiy soon, and European leaders are discussing a plan to send British and French troops to Ukraine as part of a peace agreement. 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Fund buying of precious metals continues to support prices after gold holdings in ETFs rose to a 2-year high last Friday, and silver holdings in ETFs reached a 3-year high on Tuesday. Precious metals initially moved lower on Wednesday as signs of progress in peace talks over Ukraine have curbed some safe-haven demand. Also, Wednesday's hawkish UK July CPI report may keep the BOE from cutting interest rates and is bearish for precious metals. Concerns over industrial metals demand are bearish for silver prices after ECB President Lagarde said the Eurozone economy is likely to see slower growth this quarter. UK Jul CPI rose +3.8% y/y, stronger than expectations of +3.7% y/y and the fastest pace of increase in 1.5 years. Jul core CPI also rose +3.8% y/y, stronger than expectations of +3.7% y/y. On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error al recuperar los datos Inicia sesión para acceder a tu cartera de valores Error al recuperar los datos Error al recuperar los datos Error al recuperar los datos Error al recuperar los datos
Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
ECB Urged to Target Banks Trailing on Climate
The European Central Bank should impose greater so-called haircuts on the debt of banks most exposed to climate risk, in a move that would impact the funding costs of environmental laggards. That's according to the Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute, which has been scrutinizing the ECB's support of polluting bond issuers for years. The central bank has announced it will start applying climate-risk penalties to corporate bonds used as collateral in transactions starting in the second half of next year.
