Aquinas Morning Briefing
Friday, January 30, 2026 | Feast of St. Martina
The Great Liquidation.
Markets have woken up to a cold reality this morning. The narrative of “immaculate disinflation” has shattered against the hard rock of the bond market. The US 10-Year Treasury Yield has violently repriced to 4.24% (+23bps), acting as a wrecking ball for all duration assets. This is not merely a correction; it is a liquidity shock.
The casualty list is significant. Gold (XAU), the supposed safe haven, is being liquidated, down a staggering 6.15% to $5,044. When margin calls trigger across the street, funds sell what they can, not what they want. We are witnessing a classic “Dash for Cash” scenario where the USD strengthens (EURUSD < 1.19) and everything else—including Bitcoin—bows to the dollar.
“Nature abhors a vacuum, but markets abhor a divergence.” We have long argued that asset prices cannot remain elevated while the cost of capital (yields) rises. Today is simply Gravity asserting its rights. The collapse of the ‘Golden Calf’ is a reminder: there are no idols in finance, only valuations.
It is worth noting that Aquinas Private Clients were alerted to this exact fragility on Wednesday. Our proprietary Moral Hazard & Liquidity Model detected the divergence in bond volatility before it hit the headlines, allowing our partners to hedge their precious metals exposure significantly ahead of today’s crash.
The storm is here. Do you have the shelter of Truth?
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