
Analysis Topic: Interest Rates and the Bond Market
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Thursday, January 06, 2011
EU Commission Plans Haircuts on Euro-zone Bank Debt / Interest-Rates / Credit Crisis 2011
By: Mike_Shedlock
A European commission has come up with a new proposal to shield taxpayers from the banking crisis via haircuts in senior bank bonds. The proposal only covers bank debt, not sovereign government debt, and supposedly it applies to some mythical time in the future, not now.
However, sovereign yields have hit new record highs in Greece, and are close to record highs in Portugal, Spain, and Ireland, I fail to see how the crisis can possibly be contained, and I fail to see why it takes a commission to decide that bank bondholders need a haircut. It should be perfectly obvious there is no other possible solution. The big fear is haircuts spread to sovereign debt.
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
How the Fed Could Become Insolvent / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: Casey_Research
Terry Coxon, Editor, The Casey Report writes: You've seen the proof in real time. Once-dominant industrial companies, e.g., General Motors, can run out of money. The biggest banks, e.g., Bank of America, can run out of money. Even sovereign governments, e.g., Greece, can run out of money. Yes, all those organizations are still limping along, but only after being rescued by other giant institutions, such as the U.S. government, the less unhealthy European governments, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Global Interest Rate Hiking Cycle Gathers Steam; What to Do … / Interest-Rates / US Interest Rates
By: Mike_Larson
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse, here in the U.S. markets late last week. But on Christmas Day, China’s central bank shocked investors …
Specifically, the People’s Bank of China raised short-term interest rates for the second time in the past three months.
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Thursday, December 30, 2010
Rising Interest Rates Reveal Debt Reality / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Michael_Pento
The Fed's lucky streak of luring bond investors with low interest rates may be drawing to a close. Nevertheless, the extended period of low borrowing costs has bred a new breed of investor. To the bulls and bears, we can now add the ostriches - those who bury their heads in the sand of declining debt service ratios while refusing to face up to intractable levels of total US government debt. If these ostriches were to actually look at the numbers, they would realize that it is their investments which are made of sand.
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Thursday, December 30, 2010
Debt Bubble Chronicles: We Are Now Paying for the Destruction of the US Dollar and Economy… Literally / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Graham_Summers
We just hit another milestone in insanity.
I’ve written before that thanks to its QE lite and QE 2 programs, the Fed is now officially the single, largest owner of US debt. However, even that nonsense pales in comparison to the Fed’s latest accomplishment, that of owning over $1 TRILLION in US debt.
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Thursday, December 30, 2010
The Fed’s Monetary Policy Is About to Run Into a BRIC Wall / Interest-Rates / US Interest Rates
By: Graham_Summers
Over the last few months I’ve noted repeatedly that THE key issue for the financial markets is the ongoing tension building between the Fed’s pro-inflation policy and China’s anti-inflation policy.
That tension just kicked it up a notch.
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Thursday, December 30, 2010
US Cities at Risk of Bankruptcy / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Submissions
PRESS TV writes: Next to the housing crisis, some economists say cities declaring bankruptcy is the biggest threat to the U.S. economy in 2011 More than 100 cities could go bust in the new year derailing the economy in America.
In Michigan, a small city called Hamtramck says it only has funds to operate until March first. City officials have slashed money for boarding up abandoned houses, cutting grass and no money has been set aside to plow snow from the streets.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction, The Cost Of 0% Money / Interest-Rates / US Interest Rates
By: Jim_Willie_CB
Since the early 1990 decade, the nation's maestros have promulgated the notion that cheap money is a beneficial factor for the sustenance of wealth, for economic development, for the standard of living, for the robust industries, in general for the American society. Nothing could be further from the truth, but even today the reckless US economists from the Keynesian Camp and their controllers from Wall Street have convinced the multitudes that cheap money is a good thing. Cheap money comes with a deadly ultimate cost. The inept professor occupying the US Federal Reserve Chairman post has gone on record claiming the US banking sector has a secret weapon in the Printing Pre$$ that it can use with zero cost, in its electronic form.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Key Technical Low for TLT U.S. Treasury Bonds ETF / Interest-Rates / US Bonds
By: Mike_Paulenoff
Based on my near-term as well as intermediate-term work, the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treas Bond ETF (NYSE: TLT) established a very important technical low at 90.47 on Dec 15 off of the 109.34 high from Aug 25. That low was followed by a powerful upleg to 94.21 on Dec 20 that exhibited bullish form, which "warns" us that after the current pullback runs its course, an upside continuation rally should emerge that propels the TLT towards 99-100 next.
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Monday, December 27, 2010
U.S. States and Cities Going Bust, Day of Reckoning Is at Hand! / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Martin_D_Weiss
At this very moment, cities and states all across this country are facing their day of reckoning, with far-reaching consequences for the economy, investors and every American citizen.
This morning, I will show why this day is so urgent, how to protect yourself and even how to profit from the crisis. But first …
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Sunday, December 26, 2010
The Most Important Financial Development of 2010 / Interest-Rates / US Bonds
By: DailyWealth
Dan Ferris writes: Since November 1, long-term U.S. Treasury bonds have fallen 7% in value. That's not supposed to happen. But it's happening.
Since November 1, the municipal bond market has fallen 6%. That, too, isn't supposed to happen. But it's happening.
Friday, December 24, 2010
WSJ Under Reports New Jersey Pensions Deficit as $54 Billion, Actual is $174 Billion / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Mike_Shedlock
The Wall Street Journal reports New Jersey Pension Gap Hits $54 Billion.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Alabama Town Defaults on Pensions, Files for Bankruptcy Protection / Interest-Rates / Credit Crisis 2010
By: Mike_Shedlock
The dubious honor of being the first city in the nation to completely default on pension obligations goes to Prichard, Alabama. The city has sought bankruptcy protection twice and is flat broke. It faces a choice of paying to keep city services like police and garbage running or pay pensions. It selected the former.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Long-Term U.S. Treasury Bonds, The Best Possible Investment? Think Again / Interest-Rates / US Bonds
By: EWI
TREASURIES -- the very name conveys a thing that is secure, protected, and will appreciate over time. Otherwise, it'd be called something like "TRASHeries" or "Mattress Stuffers." Then, there's the official seal of the US Department of Treasury: its image of a scale and a key symbolize "balance" and "trust."
And, finally, there's the mainstream economic experts who have it on good authority that long-term bonds increase in value during financial instability and uncertainty.
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Thursday, December 23, 2010
Dangers and Opportunities in Muni Bond ETFs Crash / Interest-Rates / Exchange Traded Funds
By: Ron_Rowland
Bonds of all kinds took a beating over the last few months — ever since Ben Bernanke began hinting he would launch another “quantitative easing” money-printing program.
Ben was true to his word. And the QE2 program was announced on November 3. Interest rates shot up in the following weeks. That was bad news both for individual bondholders and bond exchange traded funds (ETFs).
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Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Next Financial Meltdown, State Budgets Day of Reckoning / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Videos

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Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Bernanke Denies Printing Money. Mogambo Not Convinced, Buy Gold / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
By: Richard_Daughty
No matter how much I try to calm down, I can't stop being angry about the unbelievable, towering arrogance of the horrid Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, when he actually said, "One myth that's out there is that what we're doing is printing money. We're not printing money. The amount of currency in circulation is not changing"!!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Monetary Watch December 2010: The Money Supply, a Triple From Here? / Interest-Rates / Money Supply
By: Michael_Pollaro
Our monthly Monetary Watch, an Austrian take on where we are on the monetary inflation front and what’s next…
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Fed’s Bullard Defence of QE2 is Full of Contradictions / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
By: Dian_L_Chu
James Bullard, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis was on CNBC Monday, December 20, 2010 mostly defending the Fed’s controversial $600 billion Treasury purchasing program (QE2) announced in Nov.
What struck me as totally self-contradictory were Bullard’s statements regarding the QE2, treasury yield, inflation expectations, and inflation, which I will outline and rebuff below.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Spotlight on European Government Bonds; Current State of the Sovereign Debt Crisis / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
By: Mike_Shedlock
Here are a few charts that show the current state of tension in regards to the European sovereign debt crisis. The charts also show why E-Bonds, the wet dream of Jean-Claude Juncker, is not going to happen.
Jean-Claude Juncker is President of the Euro Group and Prime Minister of Luxembourg (not to be confused with Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the ECB). Junker's plan, supported by the IMF is to combine the bonds of all the Eurozone countries into one entity, with a statement that E-bonds would end the crisis.