January has been an interesting month, to put it mildly, for the U.S. dollar and dollar-based investments. There were $114 billion withdrawn from large U.S. banks in the first week of the new year alone, according to data released by the Federal Reserve. This amount represents the largest outflow of currency since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Meanwhile the benchmark 10-year Treasury note price, the standard which measures the health of the bond market, dropped 25 percent at the January 28 trade in New York, according to Tradeweb, a global over-the-counter marketplace. Investors have been selling their Treasurys more often than not since September, when the Fed announced its plan to buy $45 billion in Treasurys every month, along with $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities. These combined events of the past five months have investors and pundits alike questioning the safety and value of bonds going forward.
U.S. Treasurys 101
Most of us remember our grandmothers telling us bonds were smart investments. Simply put, (Read More....)
