Amid investor concerns that the market may get ahead of the Fed in terms of expectations for rate hikes and/or tapering of the balance sheet, Chair Jerome Powell – and his team – keep hammering on the ‘lower for longer’ message. Thus far, they are winning. On Thursday, in the wake of March’s much-better-than-expected retail sales (chart here), the 10-year treasury yield collapsed 11 basis points to 1.53 percent. This is a big tell. Time will tell. On Friday, rates rose four basis points to 1.57 percent. It is beginning to look like the 10-year wants to head lower.