The inflation story continued to dominate headlines and stoke volatility in the financial markets this week.

According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NIH), May is High Blood Pressure Education month. If the heart-palpitating events of the past week are any indication, the Institute has its work cut out for it. It’s hard to recall another week that generated as much drama or anxiety.

The soft landing crowd got a rude awakening this week when the Commerce Department reported that the economy contracted in the first quarter, the first downturn in GDP since the pandemic-induced recession in 2020.

Since 2011 the 10-year Treasury yield has pierced 3.0 percent on rare occasions – a few brief months in the fall of 2018 and 1 or 2 daily forays in late 2013.

The trillion-dollar (nominal) question of the week is whether the 8.5 percent inflation rate recorded in March marks the peak for the cycle.

The bond market experienced an attack of the Federal Reserve Bs –Brainard and Bullard – whose hawkish comments accelerated the upward move in long-term Treasury yields this week.

With the calendar page turning to April, it’s with great pleasure that we say good riddance to the first quarter. To be sure, not all the news was bad.