Amount of Negative Yielding Debt Outstanding Continues to Increase
Debt issuance has always been pretty straightforward. A borrower issues bonds that pay interest to entice lenders to part with their money for a period of time. The longer the term of the bond or the riskier the borrower, the higher the interest rate the borrower has to offer. But thanks to over a decade of quantitative easing from...
How to Tell That the Economy Is In a Bubble (When No One Else Can)
The policymakers at the Federal Reserve, and at most central banks for that matter, have a horrible track record when it comes to figuring out when an economy is in a bubble. By the time they realize that the bubble has even existed, it has already burst. They end up playing catch-up, reacting to a financial crisis months after...
Think Your Safe Deposit Box Is Really Safe?
Many people think that money or assets they store in a bank safe deposit box is guaranteed to be safe. With the security of a bank vault and the requirement of two keys to get into the box, what could go wrong? But while a safe deposit box may deter ordinary thieves, it isn’t immune to the reach of...
Precious Metals Investing: Is It Better to Invest in Gold or Silver?
Due to recent volatility in stock and bond markets, many investors have turned their attention to precious metals as a hedge against that volatility. With memories of the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath still fresh in many investors’ minds, their thoughts naturally turn to gold and silver, two assets that protected investors’ assets during the crisis. While stock...
Will the Fed Cut Interest Rates Next Month?
All of Wall Street is anticipating a cut to the federal funds rate at next month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The meeting, the last before Washington empties out in August, will set the stage for summer and early fall trading, with the following meeting not scheduled until September 17-18. While the Fed didn’t cut rates at its...