In the last few weeks, international investors spooked by the budget crisis in Greece and the turmoil in southern Europe have been flocking into the U.S. Treasury bond market as a "safe haven."
The huge resulting funds flows have pushed the 10-year Treasury bond yield down to 3.16%, very little above its level during the crisis of October 2008. To a rational investor, this is extremely peculiar: After all, what on earth is safe about the "haven" of long-term U.S. Treasury bonds?
To learn about the potential investment dangers posed by U.S. government debt, please read on...
Higher Treasury Bond Yields
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U.S. Treasury Bonds: The Not-So-Safe "Safe Haven"
Could a Spike in Bond Yields Cause the Economy to Stumble in the New Year?
In normal times, at their most basic level, bond prices follow some very simple laws of financial physics: When interest rates rise, bond prices fall and bond yields rise; when rates fall, bond prices rise, and bond yields drop.
However, bonds could break those laws of financial physics in the New Year - and in a big way. That could inflict some real financial pain on the U.S. recovery, the dollar, the shuddering housing market - and could even ignite a major stock-market reversal.
The U.S. Federal Reserve continues to hold rates on U.S. Treasury securities to artificially low levels - a strategy central bank Chairman Ben S. Bernanke just this week said the Fed intends to adhere to for the foreseeable future.
As Economic Growth and Inflation Escalate, U.S. Treasury Bond Yields Will Head Higher
By Martin HutchinsonContributing EditorMoney Morning U.S. Treasury bond yields are going higher - much higher. And that's even before we factor in the likely effects of rising inflation, which we haven't seen yet, but can certainly anticipate. Throughout the news media, commentators are noticing new "green shoots" - early signs of a recovery in the […]