Text size Bitcoin’s drop isn’t much of a surprise. Interest rates have risen in the past few weeks as markets worry that the Federal Reserve would keep lifting rates to combat high inflation. Risk ass...
Tag: government debt
What ‘Dr. Doom’ Says About Today’s Stock Market
For some of us of a certain age, an event from four decades ago often is recalled more vividly than what happened four weeks or even four days ago. Such is the case with Aug. 17, 1982. It arguably mar...
The Stock Market Is Entering Its Weakest Months. What to Watch Out For.
Text size Russia restarted natural-gas flows to Western Europe through Nord Stream 1, but President Vladimir Putin can shut it down again. Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images Bad news on the economy was go...
The 60-40 portfolio is supposed to protect investors from volatility: so why is it having such a bad year?
The first half of 2022 has been a historically bad stretch for markets, and the carnage hasn’t been limited to stocks. As stocks and bonds have sold off in tandem, investors who for years have relied ...
Forget the 1970s — this market is drawing comparisons to the 1870s
The current high inflation environment is often compared to the 1970s. But perhaps a more apt comparison would be to the 1870s. According to Bank of America, government bonds are on track for their wo...
Default Won’t Trigger a Long Winter for Russia
Failing to pay your debts can stop you getting a loan again. Except if you are a country—even Russia. Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time since the Bolshevik Revolution. Becaus...
The Fed Turns Aggressive as Inflation Meets Signs of an Economic Slowdown
Text size At the news conference following the rate hike, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell admitted that the policy-setting committee was taken aback by news of rising prices and weaker-than-expected retail...
Here’s why the stock market gets ‘squirrelly’ when bond yields rise above 3%
Stock-market investors seem to get jittery when the 10-year Treasury yield is trading above 3%. A look at corporate and government debt levels explains why, according to one closely followed analyst. ...
Next big shoe to drop in financial markets: Inflation that fails to respond to Fed rate hikes
Traders, investors and strategists are adding one more factor to the list of reasons why financial markets may be in for more volatility through at least the next three to four months: the likelihood ...
Stock Futures Fall as Bond Yields Edge Higher
U.S. stock futures fell to start the week, indicating that major equity indexes could decline again following last week’s big swings. Futures for the S&P 500 declined 1%. Contracts tied to the te...
Preferred Stocks Have Plunged This Year. But There Are Opportunities If You Know Where to Look.
The preferred-stock market has suffered one of its worst selloffs in decades as yields on leading bank preferred issues have risen to about 6% from 4%. But with yields now at their highest levels in f...
Fed lifts interest rates and will wind down $9 trillion bond stockpile in double-pronged attack on high U.S. inflation
“Inflation is much too high and we understand the hardship it is causing,” said Fed Chairman Jerome Powell in what he called a direct message to the American public. “We are moving expeditiously to br...
Bond Rout Promises More Pain for Investors
The worst bond rout in decades shows few signs of abating, threatening further pain for both investors and borrowers. Battered by high inflation readings and sharp messages from Federal Reserve offici...
Municipal Bonds Are Down So Much That They’re Buys Again
Text size Al Drago/Bloomberg A funny thing happened in the past week, as news emerged of inflation hitting a four-decade high. A few strategists started looking a bit more positively on bonds, or at l...
Fed’s Williams says could begin reducing balance sheet as soon as May meeting
The Federal Reserve may begin reducing its balance sheet as soon as its May 3-4 policy meeting to address the level of U.S. inflation that have become “particularly acute,” New York Fed chair John Wil...
U.S. government bonds just suffered their worst quarter of the past half century: Here’s why some investors may not be fazed
U.S. government bonds just finished their worst quarter since at least 1973, yet some investors aren’t likely to be put off from buying Treasurys again given rising risks of a U.S. recession within th...
Treasuries Are Getting Crushed. It Might Continue for a Long Time.
Text size Photograph by Alex Wong/Getty Images The price of Treasury bonds has plummeted recently. That could be just the start of a painful road ahead for bond investors. The price of bonds decline ...
U.S. Treasury market plagued with illiquidity as government bonds suffer worst week in years
Signs of trouble continue to show up in the world’s largest, most liquid government-securities market as government bonds logged their worst week in years and the U.S. central bank’s interest rate hik...
Treasuries Are Selling Off. Blame Powell’s Comments on Half-Point Rate Hikes.
Fed chief Jerome Powell, shown Monday at a conference in Washington, D.C., said ‘nothing’ would prevent the central bank from raising rates by a half-point at a coming meeting if needed. S...
Scorned Treasury Bonds Could Be Good Bet After Fed Boosts Rates
Rarely has there been such unanimity of opinion among both Federal Reserve officials and the cadre of analysts who track and try to predict their future moves. Monetary policy will be tightened with a...
Investors Flock to Savings Bonds for Protection Against Inflation
As inflation rises, another low-risk investment is getting more attention: the tried-and-true Series I savings bond known as inflation or I bonds. These federally guaranteed instruments currently hav...
Major Investors Hold Ground on Russian Debt Amid Ukraine Crisis
Tensions over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine have put international investors on edge. But some are holding on to Russian debt, betting that a diplomatic solution to the crisis could spark a ...
Stock futures are flat after sell-off on Wall Street, more bank earnings ahead
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 10, 2022. Brendan McDermid | Reuters U.S. stock futures were steady in overnight trading on Tuesday foll...
Worried About Inflation? Check Out This 7% Treasury Savings Bond.
Text size The Treasury Building Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images One of the best deals for savers now are Treasury Series I savings bonds now paying a 7.12% interest rate. The savings bonds, available el...
You just retired and your target-date fund has plunged. What do you do now?
If you recently retired or are near retirement and you had your money in a target-date fund designed for people retiring about now, bad luck. So far this year, the “target” is you. Morningstar tells m...