Analysis Topic: Interest Rates and the Bond Market
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Wednesday, October 09, 2013
Ominous Warnings About U.S. Debt Default and Impact on the Global Economy / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: LewRockwell
Michael Snyder writes: A U.S. debt default that lasts for more than a couple of days could potentially cause a financial crash unlike anything that the world has ever seen before. If the U.S. government purposely wanted to damage the global financial system, the best way that they could do that would be to default on U.S. debt obligations. A U.S. debt default would cause stocks to crash, would cause bonds to crash, would cause interest rates to soar wildly out of control, would cause a massive credit crunch, and would cause a derivatives panic that would be absolutely unprecedented. And that would just be for starters. But don’t just take my word for it. These are the things that top financial experts all over the planet are saying will happen if there is an extended U.S. debt default.
Thursday, October 03, 2013
Fed Retreats From QE Tapering, Five Reasons Why / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
By: Gary_Dorsch
Nowadays, the sitting members of the inner circle at the Federal Reserve are nothing more than political lackeys - conducting the nation's monetary policy, at the beset of whatever political party happens to hold the upper hand in the legislature. In his May 29th speech, titled "Central banking at a Crossroads," former Fed chief Paul Volcker lamented that the Fed had been hijacked by the Treasury and the White House. In calling for the Bernanke Fed to begin rolling back QE-3, Volcker said, " There is something else beyond the necessary mechanics and timely action that is at stake. The credibility of the Federal Reserve, its commitment to maintain price stability and its ability to stand up against pressing and partisan political pressures is critical. Independence can't just be a slogan," he warned.
Thursday, October 03, 2013
QE Taper Talk Fakeout / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
By: Peter_Schiff
Anyone who bought the media buzz about a September reduction of QE - called the "taper" - was very surprised when the Federal Reserve announced that stimulus would continue unabated. According the the official narrative, inflation is under control and the labor market is steadily improving. Why wouldn't a modest taper be announced?
The reality is that the economic indicators the Fed claims to rely on to decide when to taper are all dependent on stimulus money. This is not a mystery to Ben Bernanke. Instead, this entire saga amounted to little more than a "taper fakeout" which sent hard asset investors for a loop.
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Thursday, October 03, 2013
U.S. Interest Rates - Three Days Away From a Market Decision / Interest-Rates / US Bonds
By: Brian_Bloom
By Monday night, October 7th 2013, the first chart below will very likely show a resolution. Technically, the probabilities favour an upside break of the 10 year yield. Note how the MACD histograms have been rising
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Wednesday, October 02, 2013
Fed Could Delay QE Tapering Until After December / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
By: Frank_Shostak
Most economists surveyed by Bloomberg News are now of the view that the Federal Reserve will begin tapering asset purchases in December. Contrary to expectations on the 18-19 of September, Federal Reserve policymakers have decided to continue with a very loose monetary stance and postpone the tapering of asset purchases.
Wednesday, October 02, 2013
US Debt Flies High – But NASA Keeps Mission Control Going / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Andrew_McKillop
ALWAYS A TEMPORARY SHUTDOWN
Analysts cited by ZeroHedge, 29 September, said that some 50% of US defence force workers will continue to be paid, and NASA will continue paying workers at Mission Control in Houston to support the International Space station, where two Americans and four other people live. Aside from that, only 3% of NASA's 18 000 other employees will keep on working. About 91% of the tax-gathering IRS' staff will also be furloughed – who needs to collect taxes at a moment like this?
Wednesday, October 02, 2013
QE Taper Capers / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
By: John_Mauldin
Michael Lewitt has long been one of my favorite thinkers and writers on matters economic. He's incisive, thorough, and, well, pithy. No holds barred. Today's Outside the Box features an extended excerpt from the October issue of Michael's The Credit Strategist, which he has kindly allowed me to pass on to you.
Michael leads off this month with some useful thoughts on "the art of learning to live with intellectual and emotional discomfort," which he says is a key requirement for successful investing. Then he extends these thoughts in order to give us a critique of recent Federal Reserve behavior that is different from any I've seen. The FOMC (Federal Reserve Open Market Committee), he says, has been seized by intellectual rigidity:
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Tuesday, October 01, 2013
Looking for a Bounce in the “ten-year” U.S. Treasury Note / Interest-Rates / US Bonds
By: Ed_Carlson
TNX is the symbol for the interest rate on the ten-year, US Treasury note. One observation which has kept me from getting bullish about TNX (despite the break out above the long-term trendline) is the level of the red line in the chart below. The red line represents the distance between TNX and its 200 day moving average. Since last July it has far exceeded its highs at past tops in TNX (which is probably long-term bullish) but, not only did that level appear stretched, but it failed to confirm the higher highs in TNX seen in August and September.
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Tuesday, October 01, 2013
U.S. Debt Burden - The Most Predictable Economic Crisis? / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Axel_Merk
Forget about a government shutdown. The quibbling over concessions to keep the government funded distracts from what might be the most predictable economic crisis. We have problems that may affect everything from the value of the U.S. dollar to investors’ savings, but also to national security.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Ready for QE Five? - It's Already Here / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
By: Michael_Pento
The sad truth is that the primary function of the Fed and Treasury has now become the sustention and expansion of disastrous asset bubbles. In fact, while Mr. Bernanke officially acknowledges QEs one through three, the truth is he has embarked on QE V. What's QE five all about? Putting a lid on U.S. Treasury yields.
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Thursday, September 26, 2013
An Explanation of Quantitative Easing: Intention behind US current Monetary Policy / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
By: Submissions
Sahil Hafeez writes: Quantitative easing (QE)
This is the Federal Reserve's (USA central bank) program of buying bonds from its member banks. The purpose of this expansionary monetary policy (A policy uses to stimulate economy) is to lower interest rates and spur (stimulate) economic growth.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Why did the FOMC continue QE? / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
By: Submissions
Sahil Hafeez writes: The FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) affirmed the results of its September 17-18 gathering. It won't close Quantitative Easing until the economic indicators are closer to the Fed's targets.
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Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Hidden Panic at the U.S. Fed as Flash Trading Hits Treasury Bonds / Interest-Rates / US Bonds
By: Jim_Willie_CB
The USTreasury Bond market breakdown is in progress, all part of the general USDollar global rejection that is taking the world by storm. Of course, residents inside the US Dome do not notice, since they only perceive it as the native currency. From conversations with common folk, discussions with investor types, and general observations for over 20 years, the Jackass belief is that only 5% to 10% of Americans are aware that the USDollar serves as a global financial instrument in contracts, the basis for trade settlement (mostly crude oil), with some extremely important consequences. A major development has begun, much like a metabolic life support system in concert with the Interest Rate Swap derivative contract. For two years or more, the USTreasury Bond market has been deeply dependent upon artificial demand derived from the derivatives. Entire bond rallies have been fabricated with 50:1 leverage, fully supported by the financial network propaganda. Without derivative flying buttress support, the giant USTBond Tower would have collapsed a couple of years ago. Now a new support system has been begun, a dangerous musical chairs long entrenched in the stock market. It has entered the bond market finally. Flash Trading!!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Fed Strategy from Mohammed Ali / Interest-Rates / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes: Bernanke's actions last week - failing to taper, yet still trying to maintain the illusion that QE is a good thing - are setting up a one-two punch that's not unlike boxing champion Mohammed Ali's famous "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" approach.
If you recall, Ali was a master of the combination - some say the best ever. He loved to bring his opponents in close. Ali could see through the duplicity of his opponents' strategy and land punches that won decisively.
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Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Bernanke Signaled QE is Now a Permanent Government Program / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
By: John_Mauldin
Last Thursday, prior to the FOMC announcement, I was having an early lunch with Kyle Bass so he could get back to the office in time for the announcement. As we were finishing up, I was invited to come sit with another group of friends and traders who also happened to be in the same restaurant. Everyone was sure there would be some type of tapering. That message had been clearly communicated to the markets. When the announcement came, the telephones went off and everyone erupted with various forms of surprise. I fully admit to being speechless. I kept waiting for some kind of explanation, and none came. The more we talked about it and the more I thought about it later, the more convinced I became that this was one of the more ham-handed policy announcements from the Fed in a very long time. Why would you go to the trouble of getting the market all ready for the onset of tapering, build expectations, and then jerk out the rug? What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on?
Monday, September 23, 2013
Fed Puts Ceiling on Long-Term Interest Rates / Interest-Rates / UK Interest Rates
By: Michael_Pento
The President of the Europe’s central bank said back in July of 2012 that it would fight rising borrowing costs by doing “whatever it takes” to ensure sovereign bond yields do not spiral out of control. This past week Mr. Bernanke took a page from Mario Draghi’s playbook and tacitly indicated that the Fed will now also promise to keep long-term interest rates from rising by any means necessary.
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Monday, September 23, 2013
How Interest Rate Swaps Are Crushing America's Cities / Interest-Rates / Banksters
By: Money_Morning
Garrett Baldwin writes: It's something you may not even have heard of, but the massive financial burden of interest rate swaps is pressuring city budgets and pinching taxpayers more every year.
But before I tell you what interest rate swaps are, let me show you how they've affected life in America's largest city - New York.
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Monday, September 23, 2013
Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme Looks Like a Joke Compared to U.S. Treasury Bonds / Interest-Rates / US Bonds
By: Profit_Confidential
Michael Lombardi writes:
The “Bernie” Madoff name became famous while the stock market was falling during the credit and financial crisis. He was responsible for running one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history—if I recall correctly, it was a $65.0-billion scheme. But as the scam got bigger, Madoff couldn’t go on. He was caught, prosecuted, and sentenced to more than 100 years in jail.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
The Fed Is Already In the End Game / Interest-Rates / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Graham_Summers
The Fed failed to announce a Taper yesterday of any kind.
It is positively outrageous, but it does inform us of many things.
First and foremost, the Fed has made it clear that it cannot be hawkish is any way. We had just two months of hinting at tapering QE from the Fed (Bernanke was back talking up how accommodating he’d be by July).
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Saturday, September 21, 2013
Debt is Still Cheap, and Getting Looser / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Douglas_French
Suddenly, borrowing and lending is all the rage again.
The financial crash was five years ago this fall, and nobody is letting us forget it. According to ex-FDIC Chair Sheila Bair, financial soundness isn't much improved. She says, "I think our system is still somewhat fragile, a lot more needs to be done."
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