Bloomberg - The First Word

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Jeremy Stretch, head of foreign-exchange strategy at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in London, says a downgrade of U.K. sovereign debt is a matter of "when rather than if." Stretch talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Christoph Rieger, head of fixed-rate strategy at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, says "a slowdown of QE" will be among the factors that will push the yield on the 10 year U.S. Treasury note to 2.65 percent by year end. Rieger talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Kevin Divney, chief investment officer at Beaconcrest Capital Management in Boston, says "corporate America is starting to spend" and that will drive stocks higher. Divney talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- David Schnautz, a fixed-income strategist at Commerzbank in New York, says bund yields are low "despite feel good indicators." Schnautz talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Taylor, senior economist at Lombard Street Research Ltd., says bond markets are a better guide than equity markets to a euro region economy that is "not particularly positive." Taylor talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Brian Daingerfield, a currency strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc's RBS Securities unit in Stamford, Connecticut, says "growth momentum has slowed significantly" for the euro region. Daingerfield talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Peter Chatwell, a fixed-income strategist at Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank in London, says "markets are healing" in Europe and sovereign interest rate spreads will "continue to tighten over the long run." Chatwell talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Daragh Maher, a currency strategist at HSBC Holdings Plc in London, says when "the G-7 ended with 3 different interpretations of a communiqué, what's the likelihood we can get agreement from 20 people around a table?" Maher talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- David Buik, a market strategist at Cantor Index Ltd., says weaker economic data out of Europe this morning indicate that an economic recovery is six months to a year away. Buik talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING Group in Brussels, says the German economy will have a "quick rebound" after it shrank 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter. Brzeski talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Andrew Bosomworth, managing director at Pacific Investment Management Co., says a Swiss move to require banks to hold more capital for property loans will "at the end of the day" reduce returns on capital. Bosomworth talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Christopher Wheeler, a London-based analyst at Mediobanca SpA, says a Swiss move to require banks to increase capital ratios on property loans is "moving the bar up" for Swiss banks. Wheeler talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- David Kotok, chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors Inc., says the "body language" form the State of the Union Address suggest "there is still an impasse in Washington." Kotok talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Ingram, a markets commentator at BGC International in London, says "the spread compression" in Europe is reversing as investors now look for economic growth. Ingram talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Adam Cole, head of global currency strategy in London at Royal Bank of Canada, says debasing currencies is not the "principal objective" of central banks. Cole talks with Bloomberg's Michael McKee on Bloomberg Radio's "Bloomberg - The First Word." (Source: Bloomberg)