It's getting harder to make easy money in Asia bonds as junk takes a hit

TOKYO: It’s getting harder to make easy profits in Asia’s bond market as the trade war and geopolitical tensions drag down junk debt.

Speculative-grade bonds from the region have lost money for three straight weeks, their worst streak since late last year. That trend is threatening payouts for the rest of 2019, given that fund managers had loaded up on the riskier securities earlier this year.

Safer investment-grade notes are still making money, but as more investors now pile into those havens, sustaining strong returns there is also becoming more difficult.