Wasn’t so long ago that we were applauding more generous yields among our fixed income exposures for the greater income over the longer term that they may provide. This despite the nearer term drag from the impact that rising rates had on bond prices, the movement of the latter being inverse to that of the former. So much for all that. A conspiracy of waning global growth, declining inflation expectations, rising geo-trade tensions and rather more perilous political turns of tone have seen interest rates near world-round sink on growing pessimism and uncertainty. Investors should be careful, we think, to respond by creeping up the risk curve, as bangs-for-buck remain historically weak among most of the riskier income-focused investment.