FRANKFURT (DEUTSCHE-BOERSE AG) - First risk-off, then risk-on again – it was a week full of excitement. Now, calm has returned, and the focus has shifted back to typical bond market topics like key interest rates. Some, however, are turning away from the US.
January 23, 2026. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse). Events at the World Economic Forum are also shaping the bond markets. "The week was all about Davos," reports Arthur Brunner, who trades bonds for ICF Bank. "The temporary threat of higher US tariffs pushed other topics into the background in recent days," notes Commerzbank analyst Marco Wagner. Equities took significant losses as "safe havens" were in demand. But after the agreement with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the withdrawal of the tariff threat, the picture has changed again. "All in all, yields have not moved that much," Brunner observes.
"Danish Fund No Longer Considers US Creditworthy"
He has been observing a shift away from US Treasuries and towards gold for some time now. This week, the Danish pension fund AkademikerPension drew considerable attention by announcing it would sell all its US Treasuries. "The fund no longer considers the US creditworthy," Brunner notes. Ten-year German Bunds are yielding 2.90 percent at midday Friday, up from 2.83 percent the previous week. Ten-year US Treasuries are currently yielding 4.24 percent, up from 4.17 percent a week ago.
New Fed Chair: Trump Protégé or Independent?
After the turbulence in Davos, Commerzbank expects the focus to shift back to the central banks. No further move is expected at next Wednesday's US Federal Reserve meeting. "The Fed is likely to hold steady and not cut rates further for now," explains analyst Bernd Weidensteiner. In the coming months, the Fed will likely be less influenced by monetary policy considerations in the narrow sense, and more by the battle for its independence. "There are increasing indications that it will not be Kevin Hassett, but rather Kevin Warsh who becomes the next chair – with his experience and reputation, Warsh is seen as more neutral," the bank notes.
Popular Zloty Bonds
Today, a European Union bond maturing in 2031 (EU000A3L1DJ0) and currently yielding 2.73 percent is being bought, according to Gregor Daniel of Walter Ludwig Wertpapierhandelsbank. He also sees purchases, though at a lower level, in Polish zloty-denominated bonds. Examples include a Polish government bond maturing in 2034 (PL0000116851) and European Investment Bank (EIB) bonds in Polish currency maturing in 2029 (EU000A3L6Q26). These currently yield 4.92 and 3.76 percent, respectively. "It is interesting that the Polish National Bank recently increased its gold reserves to around 550 tonnes – making the country's gold reserves larger than those of the ECB," Daniel notes.
Mercedes and Eon in Demand, as Well as Schalke
"Constantly bought" in the corporate bond segment is the Mercedes-Benz bond maturing in 2031, currently yielding just under 3 percent (DE000A3LH6U5), Daniel also reports. He notes both buying and selling for the Eon bond maturing in 2044, currently yielding 4.17 percent (XS2791960664). DEAG Deutsche Entertainment papers (NO0013639112) saw a temporary dip. "After the price corrected slightly from last week, there was buying interest around 102 percent," he adds.
According to Brunner, the Gelsenkirchen-Schalke football club bond continues to be well received, now trading at 105 percent (DE000A460AT6). ABO Energy (DE000A3829F5), on the other hand, continued to fall. The bond is now trading at only about 16 percent, Brunner explains. After a loss forecast of 95 million euros for 2025 in November, the price had already dropped from 100 to 50 percent. Now, losses are expected to reach even 170 million euros.
News from BMW
This week saw an extremely high number of new issues – as is typical at the start of the year. New BMW bonds are also being offered to retail investors in denominations of 1,000 euros, reports Marcus Mielert of Oddo BHF: one yields 2.625 percent until 2029 (XS3280518856), another 3.25 percent until 2032 (XS3280519078), and a third 3.75 percent until 2036 (XS3280519318). There is also a floater.
By Anna-Maria Borse, January 23, 2026, © Deutsche Börse AG
(Deutsche Börse AG is solely responsible for the content of this column. The articles do not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell securities or other assets.)
