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Michael Johnston: With benchmark interest rates hovering at or near zero in many developed markets, investors of all types have been seeking out high-yielding asset classes to deliver Read more…
Ben Gersten: Over the past few years there have been unprecedented swings in the major indexes, scaring some investors out of the markets altogether. Read more…
Michael Snyder: What was considered unthinkable a few months ago has now become probable. All over the globe there are headlines proclaiming that a Greek exit from the euro Read more…
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Jeff Harding: The Fed didn’t change any policies yesterday, but they have really bought into the “jaw, jaw, jaw” theory of monetary policy by extending the low interest rate (ZIRP) policy out to late 2014 from their former mid-2013 target. That is, they believe if the markets rely on the Fed’s word to keep Read more…
Dian L. Chu: Stock markets soared after the coordinated actions on Wed. Nov. 30 from six central banks around the world — the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank (ECB), and the central banks of Read more…
Sy Harding: First let’s make sure we understand the basics of bonds. Bonds are a form of debt. When a company or a government needs to borrow money it can borrow from banks and pay interest on the loan, or it can borrow from investors by issuing bonds and paying interest on the bonds. Read more…
Matt Tucker: Lately, I have been fielding a lot of questions from investors who have been disappointed with the performance of some of their fixed income investments. The basic story is always Read more…
Sam Kirtley: Gold prices made yet more all time highs in the last trading session, propelled by what we think was a short squeeze. Many traders were probably betting that gold prices would decline once the US debt ceiling was resolved; however this was not the case. In this article we will outline Read more…
The proliferation of ETFs has long been talked about and now there is basically an ETF for just about any investing situation you can think of. The rise in popularity for managed ETFs has now opened the door for managers to make the ridiculous now possible. Need to find an ETF that tracks Uzbekistan goat-herding clean bio-fuel companies? No problem, we’ll slap one together for you! But the arms race in ETFs has seemed to have taken a new turn—anti-American sentiment.
There is no shortage of bad news surrounding the US economy and foreign governments have made no secret of the fact that they would LOVE to see the US lose its place at the head of the table and fall back to “equal footing” with their own economies. The call for a new world currency is just the beginning of this sentiment. Read more…
……But where to put the cash. A checking account will only pay you a fraction of a percent interest — no thanks. Treasuries are safe but do not pay much either unless you invest long term. What I decided to do was find an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that allowed me short term liquidity, security, relative stability and paid a higher yield. I also liked the idea of an ETF because it allowed me to keep the funds in the brokerage account and I could still keep score.
What I decided on was the Vanguard Total Bond Market (NYSE: BND) ETF. It is currently paying a 4.15% yield and I can trade shares anytime to get cash. Read more…
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