Bruising December

December has been a bruising month for bond traders and we're only four days in.   The value of the US fixed-income market slid by US$162.5 billion on Thursday while the euro area's shrank by the equivalent of US$107.5 billion as a smaller-than-expected stimulus boost by the European Central Bank and hawkish comments from Janet Yellen pushed up yields around the world. A global index of bonds compiled Bank of America Merrill Lynch slumped the most since June 2013.