ThinkstockThe United States Treasury has just sold $13 billion in 30-year Treasury Bonds. This “long bond” auction was expected to be highly watched because of the recent rise in interest rates and with the…
ThinkstockWas Meredith Whitney’s prediction about municipal and state bankruptcies more reality than she was attacked for? The ratings team of Standard & Poor’s issued a substantial downgrade to the city of Detroit on Wednesday…
The U.S. Treasury auctioned off some $21 billion in new 10-year Treasury notes on Wednesday, and the auction results were very weak. This latest auction was expected to be closely followed as interest rates…
ING U.S. Inc. (NYSE: VOYA) has now been public for long enough that the analyst quiet period from the underwriting firms has ended. We are seeing mixed official analyst coverage, but note that Barron’s…
ThinkstockThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has started a push to press down, or even eliminate, overdraft fees. A decision against the banks could cost them tens of millions of dollars in profits. The agency…
By now you have figured out that the Federal Reserve is full of mixed opinions when it comes to keeping up or tapering off the $85 billion in monthly bond and asset purchases under…
ThinkstockThe never-ending bull market in Treasury bonds appears to be looking more and more as though the party is over. At some point, the risk-reward is just too great and people will only settle…
ThinkstockStandard & Poor’s has taken one step to normalize its credit ratings of the United States of America. In a report that seems to have come out of the blue, S&P has maintained the…
ThinkstockNOTE: Due to a posting and timestamp error, this article is being reposted in the system after an original time of 2:15 p.m. EST on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. The Federal Reserve has released…
ThinkstockThe European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BOE) have both voted to leave their key short-term rates flat at 0.50%. Despite the notion that Europe is still teetering on or in…
ThinkstockBanks that are undercapitalized tend to fail. It makes sense, as the statement seems obvious after all of the bankruptcy reports we have seen in recent years. What really stands out is that the number…
Since the end of April, the 10-year Treasury note yield increased more than 40 basis points and is up 35 basis points year-to-date. The financial services analysts at UBS A.G. (NYSE: UBS) have looked…
ThinkstockSince the beginning of the year, the Japanese yen has fallen from around 86 to the dollar to around 100. The rapid depreciation is down to a massive easing program instituted by the country’s…
ThinkstockIt is a new month and we have yet another investment outlook from the de facto bond king Bill Gross of PIMCO. In this monthly appearance, “Wounded Heart” refers to capitalism’s overall quest for…
ThinkstockFrom debit card fees to overdraft charges, consumers need clearer policies from their banks to understand checking accounts, according to a report released by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The report identified seven “best” practices…