Category Archives: Interest Rates

Euro Falls On Debt Yields –

Yields for European sovereign debt continue to drive the Euro lower in trading.  The Euro fell against most major currencies and settled at $1.3525.  In trading against the Yen, the Euro fell to 104 Yen and had the biggest weekly drop since late … Continue reading

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Smaller Euro Zone –

The Euro zone debt crisis continues to spread and yields on Italian debt broke the 7% mark today.  As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 400 points in trading on Wednesday.  Speculation of a smaller Euro zone with deeper … Continue reading

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Italian Bonds Force Stock Futures Lower –

Stock futures are lower as traders focus on Italian bonds.  Bond yields for Italian debt have climbed and Berlusconi may step down as Prime Minister.   The 10 year Italian government bond yield rose to 6.58%.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at almost … Continue reading

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Economic News Sends Gold Higher –

Gold broke the $1,760 an ounce mark in trading this week.  The precious metal rose on the possibility of slower domestic economic growth and another round of monetary stimulus.  Recently, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that additional monetary stimulus may be … Continue reading

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Greek Referendum Sends Stocks Lower –

The Dow Jones started to rebound after falling more than 300 points.  Stocks fell after Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou called for a referendum on the European Union bailout plan.  Currently, the Dow Jones is down slighlty less than 200 points in afternoon trading. To … Continue reading

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IMF Plan Opposed –

The United States opposed a plan to almost double the size of the International Monetary Fund.  Currently, the fund has $380 billion in resources.  Shareholders opposed to the plan included Japan, China, Germany, Canada, and Australia. To read a related Reuters article, … Continue reading

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Treasuries Fall On Jobs Data –

Treasury yields rose for the fourth straight day after a government jobs report indicated that the economy added more jobs in September.  Ten year notes increased to 2.06% near the end of the trading day.  Yields had fallen to their lowest … Continue reading

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Federal Reserve Set To Purchase Debt –

The Federal Reserve announced that it would sell $400 billion of short term debt and purchase longer term bonds with the funds.  In addition, the Federal Reserve stated that there were significant downside risks to the economic outlook.  The warning … Continue reading

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Dow Finishes Up –

The Dow Jones finished up 125 points on Friday but was still down 1.5% for the week.  Trading was very volatile all week with the Dow Jones moving 400 or more points on four consecutive days.  Gold touched $1,800 an ounce … Continue reading

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Stocks & Oil Tumble –

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 600 points in trading on Monday.  The downgrade of U.S. debt and concerns for the global economy continued to drive the market lower throughout the day.  Crude oil also fell in trading and finished … Continue reading

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U.S. Debt Downgraded –

Standard and Poor’s lowered the U.S. credit rating to AA+ and also attached a negative outlook.  The U.S. has held a triple A credit rating for 70 years and the downgrade is likely to have a negative effect on the financial markets.  … Continue reading

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Dollar Hits Record Lows –

 The U.S. Dollar continued to decline against all major currencies and hit record lows in trading.  The uncertainty surrounding debt negotiations between Republicans and Democrats are leading traders to sell the Dollar.  In afternoon trading the U.S. Dollar/ Euro exchange … Continue reading

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Stocks Rise On Possible Stimulus –

Stocks rebounded after minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting indicated that a possible stimulus could be on the way.  The two day drop was the worst for the Dow Jones  since March.  European stocks declined for a third straight day due to … Continue reading

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Municipal Bond Tax Exempt Proposals –

Municipal bonds are facing proposals that would eliminate their tax exempt status.  Republican Paul Ryan submitted a budget proposal that was aimed at lowering the deficit but also would end municpal bond tax exemption.  It is not likely that municipal bonds will lose … Continue reading

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Municipal Bonds Rebound –

Municpal bonds have rebounded over the last month with yields for AAA rated munis falling for 25 consecutive trading days.  Investors are willing to accept slightly more risk to achieve greater returns than from safe U.S. Treasuries.  The tax free component of municipal bonds is another factor … Continue reading

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