A continuation of the move higher in interest rates, backed by relatively encouraging economic reports and continued dovish central bank guidance were the primary themes last week. The move higher in interest rates has caused some indigestion because the move and associated volatility have indeed been historic. Improving growth expectations is a key driver which translated last week to relative outperformance of cyclical areas of the equity markets (financials, energy, industrials, materials) while rate sensitive and higher valuation pockets across global markets lagged. The more cyclical nature of the DJIA and equal weight S&P pushed them both to mark new record highs while the cap weighted S&P 500 fell 2.45% on the week. Higher U.S. rates translated to slight appreciation in the USD (+0.57%) while commodity markets benefited from a move higher in oil (+3.81%) and several industrial metals.