Bondcast - The Rates Podcast
In this weekly podcast series, Imogen Bachra along with the NatWest Markets team of rates & markets specialists help investment professionals shape their portfolio views on fixed income, learn how the biggest themes, trends, and events affect bond performance, and get deeper insight into rates markets including the latest analysis & research from the NatWest team.
Episodes
227 episodes
Speakers' Corner: What to make of the 2026 energy price shock?
The latest escalation in the Middle East has reignited concerns over higher energy prices, inflation and the outlook for UK growth. But is this shock really comparable to the energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022?...
Bondcast Speakers' Corner: AI, productivity and market risk
In this edition of Bondcast: Speakers’ Corner, Imogen Bachra is joined by NatWest Director of Innovation, David Greenwald, to explore one of the defining market themes of 2026: artificial intelligence. The discussion examines whether markets ar...
The Week Ahead: 20 – 24 July
In this new series of Bondcast Week Ahead, Imogen Bachra shares her thoughts on what's moving markets in the coming five days.
Higher oil prices again, but what next for rates?
In this week’s episode, Imogen Bachra is joined by Stuart Sparks and Giovanni Zanni to discuss what recent events mean for rates markets.Fresh tensions in the Middle East have pushed oil prices higher once again, forcing markets to reass...
Bondcast Speakers' Corner: Geopolitics and markets in summer '26
In this special edition of Bondcast Speakers' Corner, Imogen Bachra is joined by NatWest Group International Advisor Scott Livingstone to examine the geopolitical landscape and what it could mean for rates markets over the months and years ahea...
The Week Ahead: 13 – 17 July
Imogen Bachra looks ahead to a week shaped by renewed Middle East risk, key US inflation data, Chair Warsh’s testimony, UK political uncertainty, and the start of earnings season.Key takeawaysMarkets may need to price ...
Are markets too quick to price more rate hikes?
Oil prices are back in focus, markets are repricing central bank risk, and politics is adding another layer of uncertainty across Europe and the UK. In this episode of Bondcast, Imogen Bachra, Deepika Dayal and Oriane Parmentier discuss whether...
Speakers' Corner: Are markets too optimistic on oil and global shipping?
Oil prices have retraced to pre-conflict levels following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and the reopening of the Strait. But does that rebound accurately reflect what’s happening in the real economy?In this special ...
The Week Ahead: 6 July – 10 July 2026
Imogen Bachra shares her quick take on the big themes and events likely to move markets over the coming week. It’s a lighter but still market-moving calendar, with UK and French political risks, the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee ...
A deceptively important week for rates markets
This week on Bondcast, Imogen Bachra, Ian Vanderhorn, and Oriane Parmentier unpack a deceptively important week for rates markets: a mixed US labour report, softer European inflation, central-bank caution at Sintra, and growing focus on the Ban...
Speakers' Corner: Leverage ratios, gilt demand and the future of UK funding
In the first episode of Bondcast Speakers’ Corner, host Imogen Bachra is joined by James Bucknall and Iain Budge to discuss one of the most closely watched regulatory topics in UK rates markets: the leverage ratio framework.With the UK ...
The Week Ahead (29 June - 3 July '26)
In this new series of Bondcast Week Ahead, Imogen Bachra shares her thoughts on what's moving markets in the coming five days.
Peak optimism and calm markets
This week on Bondcast, Imogen Bachra is joined by Oriane Palmentier to discuss rates markets in the UK and Europe.Key topics: * The sharp repricing lower in UK gilt yields and evolving Bank of England expectations* Whe...
The Week Ahead (22-26 June '26)
This video is about My Movie 1In this new series of Bondcast Week Ahead, Imogen Bachra shares her thoughts on what's moving markets in the coming five days.
Rates on hold, but likes for hikes
This week’s episode focuses on a pivotal week for global central banks as markets shift attention away from geopolitical headlines in the Middle East and back toward monetary policy. The discussion covers the first Federal Reserve meeting under...
The Week Ahead (15-19 June '26)
In this new series of Bondcast Week Ahead, Imogen Bachra shares her thoughts on what's moving markets in the coming five days.
From Middle East headlines to central bank decisions
This week Imogen Bachra is joined by Ian VanderHorn and Oriane Parmentier to discuss some key central bank decisions. They examine the latest developments from the ECB, previews next week’s Fed and Bank of England meetings, and explore how geop...
Hawkish talk, headlines and more tariffs
This week on Bondcast, the team examines how fading optimism over a potential US-Iran agreement and renewed tariff discussions are influencing rates markets. With major central bank meetings approaching, the discussion also turns to the outlook...
Is the Fed changing the rules?
This week on Bondcast, Imogen Bachra, Oriane Parmentier and Stuart Sparks unpack the key macro themes dominating fixed income markets following NatWest’s Official Institutions Conference in Edinburgh. With geopolitical tensions in the Middle Ea...
Number five is alive in long-end rates
In this episode of Bondcast, host Imogen Bachra is joined by global market specialist Ian VanderHorn to unpack the growing political and fiscal risks shaping UK and US rates markets – where 5% yields are now a thing.Key points:* U...
In conversation with Huw Pill
In this special episode of Bondcast, we replay NatWest's live broadcast fireside chat and Q&A with Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill, who was joined on stage by Imogen Bachra, NatWest's Head of Economics and Markets Strategy.R...
ECB expected to hike, but less certainty with the Bank of England
This week, host Imogen Bachra is joined by Oriane Parmentier to talk about rates in the UK and the euro area. They focus on:- The return of market optimism despite geopolitical risk - ECB outlook and how the market is pricing...
Central banks held rates, but what to take from the details?
This week, host Imogen Bachra is joined by economists Kevin Cummins and Giovanni Zanni to talk through their analysis of three central bank decisions to hold rates.Key points:1. Federal Reserve rate hike prospects and dissenting...