Tag: Curbs

New-style curbs everlasting however will quickly be much less distinguished

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WEST SPRINGFIELD – The Cape Cod-Style Berme is not a vacation, complain some Ohio Avenue residents.

As part of a $ 1.5 million project to re-pave the residential street, road workers installed an asphalt curb along the edges of the road. The curb is rounded, but does not fall off for driveways and forms a noticeable bump when leaving the public road.

Mayor William Reichelt asks the residents to be patient, as the bump will get smaller after the work is completed.

“At first the paving of Ohio Avenue is far from finished,” said Reichelt. “A top coat has to be applied to the street, then the driveways will merge into the Cape Cod style berm.” All paving work should be finished this construction season.

He continued, “Wherever possible in the city, Cape Cod style berms are installed to protect adjacent properties from rainwater runoff and plow damage, protect the pavement from years of deterioration from driveway seams, and make a better product for the community. “

According to New England Sealcoating, “Cape Cod’s asphalt mountain is becoming increasingly popular for curbs. It has a sloping front that is angled from the front base to the top of a back about 6 inches high. It looks like a triangle. “

City Engineer Connor Knightly reiterated Reichelt’s points, saying that the berms are permanent structures and will not be removed until the next time the road has to be repaved.

In contrast to the previous road, Reichelt claimed that this road will be in a “solid state” for over 50 years.
Knightly said that an asphalt berm is usually quarried before the top of a road is paved.

“That’s why the berm seems so much higher than the road. When the last layer of asphalt is applied, the height difference will be much smaller while it still serves as a rain gutter and roadside. “

Public works manager Robert Colson said that the height of the street is increased by 1.5 inches when the top coat is applied with hot mix plates. “[This] will match the leading edge of the Cape Cod berm, ”he said. In addition, he said that all of the driveway aprons will be adjusted to the top of the berm.

“I can understand the frustration with the change, but the paving project is not yet complete and should not be rated as such,” said Reichelt.

“The berm is not supposed to be a speed bump,” Knightly said. In order to avoid waterlogging, all lawns are loam and sown to improve their surfaces.

Colson added, “The berm protects the roadside from damage and keeps the clay and seeds clean in people’s front yards. It protects the driveways and the tree belt from snow plows. “

According to the mayor, the city has invested nearly $ 1.5 million in Ohio Avenue. The funds were used to replace the aqueduct and rebuild the sewer system after the gas company replaced the natural gas pipeline along the carriageway, which is expected to be completed this month.

In addition, Ohio Avenue is one of the first streets to get trial run of urban fiber next year.

Treasury Yields Face Curbs From Fistful of Cash-Market {Dollars}

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(Bloomberg) – The flood of dollars helping to bring some US money market rates below zero could fuel the international appetite for longer-term government bonds and help contain rising bond yields at the longer end of the curve.

The abundance of greenbacks in the financial markets, fueled by a combination of Federal Reserve monetary policy and the prospect of government spending equal to the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package, did not help reduce the cost of any US dollar-based investors by reducing currency hedging on their holdings of government bonds. This, combined with now higher nominal returns in America, means that it seems more attractive for these investors to get in and buy.

“The secured return has not been so attractive in euros and yen for years,” said Chris Iggo, chief investment officer at AXA Investment Managers.

For managers of euro and yen portfolios who buy assets denominated in US dollars and hedge the currency risk on a three-month basis, the shift in the so-called cross-currency basis swaps since last year, together with the direct increase in nominal returns, means the The yield on 10-year US benchmark debt is now at its highest level since 2017 and well above what it can achieve in its home markets. This could lead to foreigners jumping in to buy after last week’s sell-off on bonds that are generating 10-year returns above 1.6%. However, whether this can stop the drive for ever higher government bond yields remains to be seen.

“The recent surge in US yields and the development of the currency base have made US Treasuries more attractive to international investors,” said Mohit Kumar, strategist at Jefferies International.

Euro-based investors who buy 10-year government bonds can collect 113 basis points versus 10-year German government bonds. Meanwhile, yen-based investors, who typically measure the 10-year government bond versus 30-year Japanese government bonds, will receive a 47 basis point increase in yield on that trade, according to Kumar, a former trader.

The story goes on

The three-month cross-currency base swaps for the yen and euro have fallen from their highs this year, but are still well below their December lows. The Fed’s efforts to increase the dollar’s liquidity and the US Treasury Department’s cuts have resulted in an abundance of dollars in the money market system. The dollar glut keeps overnight rates close to zero, and from time to time slightly negative interest rates appear on loans backed by Treasury bills.

The three-month cross-currency yen base swap stood at minus 11.25 basis points on Tuesday. A Japanese investor looking to hedge their Treasury exposure would borrow in yen, pay the three-month Japanese Libor (currently minus 0.087%), and convert the yen to US dollars to buy US Treasuries. The Treasuries can be sold via reverse repo and the proceeds can be converted back into yen via the cross-currency base swap.

It is speculated that Japanese investors will become more involved in trading after the fiscal year begins in April.

Curve softening

US yields rose sharply last week, with the 10- and 30-year tenors hitting their highest levels in more than a year, pricing in an economic recovery as the US virus infection rate eased with the introduction of the vaccine. The 10-year return rose to 1.609% while the 30-year return hit 2.394%. The market has since stabilized and the 10-year situation eased back to around 1.42% on Tuesday.

“I would be surprised if 10-year yields were to rise above 1.5%, let alone over 2%,” said Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Yen and euro-based investors flow into government bonds “, Provided that interest rate volatility subsides.

“It is not possible here to sustainably decouple the steepness of the curve in the USA from other regions,” said Panigirtzoglou. “If the US curve continues to steepen, investors outside of the US will ultimately take advantage of the return advantage.”

Core returns in the eurozone and Japan have failed to break out of the lows seen in recent years. Japan’s 10-year return is still below 0.20% while the German 0.35% is negative.

“As the Bank of Japan remains committed to controlling the yield curves and the European economic outlook does not warrant higher returns, foreign investors are very likely to take advantage of this opportunity,” said AXA’s Iggo.

(Updated levels in the eighth paragraph)

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