From the category archives:

interest rates

The dry spell in bank dividends in Canada is officially over.  Although Laurentian had raised its dividend shortly after the worst of the crisis was over, it’s not usually considered one of the Big 5 or even Big 6, the members of which are heavily owned by a majority of Canadians through pension plans, RRSPs [...]

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The difference between deflation and disinflation is quite important but not one you hear as much about.  Yet it is important to not the difference because the two are not quite the same thing at all.
Keep in mind that INFLATION, strictly speaking, is an increase in the money supply (which eventually leads to an increase [...]

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If you’re in the U.S., you may be justified in blaming your banking industry (you definitely are), but just make sure that you know you’re talking specifically about U.S. banks.  Not all banks around the world screwed everyone over.
Let me remind you that banking cultures are very different around the world.  They don’t all set [...]

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This is the news in US debt catching our eye early this week following the passing of the health care reform bill late Sunday night: charts of yields on US Treasuries are showing a spike in short-term, two-year treasury yields – a spike that lifts them above the yields on corporate bonds for the same [...]

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The rally has been over for a good two months, and the markets have been stuck in a trading range since the New Year.  Recent concerns over the potential of sovereign debt crises, however, show that we’re not out of the woods yet.
Just consider some of the following areas for potential setbacks in the markets: [...]

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Highest ever one-month inflation rise in the UK for December, fiscal imbalances in Greece, weakened macro-economics in Germany, a Canadian housing market bubble, higher than 50% gains in the commodity currencies since last March (2009), and the return of hubris and risk-taking in the U.S. investment banks… what do these all have in common?
Is it [...]

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Aside from American financial institutions and the Fed (the buyer of last resort), the largest buyers of US Treasuries and notes are all Asian countries.  You can probably guess which ones.
#1 – China
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China, more than anyone, is probably most concerned with the value of the US dollar and the stability of their US dollar investments.  [...]

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