Interest Rates Are Rising, So Now What?

When the Fed bailed out the banks in 2008, interest rates dropped to historic lows. Many retirees were heavily invested in CDs and quality bonds earning a safe 6% interest, paying their bills, and enjoying their golden years. Overnight, trillions in CDs and bonds were called in, savers lost a major portion of their anticipated income as interest rates dropped […]

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How Will Rising Interest Rates Impact Dividend Stocks?

As the world awaited the new bailout bill, CNBC reported, “10-year Treasury yield hits highest level in a year”. “The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note climbed to 1.29% at around 4:15 p.m. ET, breaking above the 1.28% level for the first time since February 2020. Meanwhile, the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond rose to 2.08%. …. The […]

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The Bond Market Is Nuts!

The bond market is absolutely nuts – devoid of any common sense. Back in the days when professors used chalkboards, and actually taught classes, I studied Business Economics. We learned how capital and labor come together to produce goods and services, create jobs and profits. If capital was needed, you could borrow and pay interest. Interest is the rent you […]

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Why Buy Bonds?

Realizing you are wrong about a basic belief is tough. The last two weeks we discussed “The Bond Fund Risks Your Broker Won’t Tell You” and “Closed-End Bond Funds, Friend or Foe?” We concluded holding top-rated bonds is OK – individually, not in a publicly traded fund. Fund managers, chasing high returns, take risks I’m not comfortable with. If bonds […]

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The Bond Fund Risks Your Broker Won’t Tell You

Historically, funds holding investment-grade bonds have been considered a safe investment. Lending money to hundreds of well-known companies had little chance of major default and provided interest income. Has your broker mentioned new risks emerging? Bonds ratings fall into two major groups, investment grade and high yield (called junk bonds). The bond rating generally determines the interest rate borrowers have […]

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