Bond Funds
Keep up with the latest news about bond funds which can provide diversity and income to portfolios and offset equity risk.
Britain May Revive Perpetual Gilts
By Marlene Y. SatterEverything old is new againBritain is considering bringing back perpetual gilts, long-term bonds that were first debuted after the South Seas Bubble crisis of 1720. With 100-year maturities and todays extra-low interest rates, the idea is attractive to many.
March 07, 2012
Big Banks Join Greek Debt SwapBy Thursday Greece must win over the rest of the participants to exchange new bonds for old, or it will invoke collective action clauses to compel additional bondholders to participate. The target is to reduce the countrys privately held debt of 206 billion euros ($270 billion) by 53.5%.
March 06, 2012
Greek 1-Year Bond Hits 1,000%Investors who would drool at the chance to turn a $1,000 investment into $10,000 in just a year are likely in no better position than the Greek mythological figure Tantalus unable to grasp the low-hanging fruit just out of his reach.
March 06, 2012
Portuguese Bond Yields RisePortugal may be in need of a second bailoutor so it seems from its sovereign bond yields, which have risen steadily despite a flood of cash from the European Central Bank that is flowing to other investment targets.
March 01, 2012
ECB’s Trillion-Euro Giveaway Offers Limited Time for Reform: News AnalysisThe ECBs liquidity lifeline to bankslike Americas QE policyoffers a chance to avoid a deeper economic depression, but only if that window of opportunity is used to make sustained structural reforms that policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic have so far avoided.
March 01, 2012
CDS Not Triggered by Greek Bailout: ISDAThe bailout of Greece involving an exchange of sovereign bonds did not constitute a credit event and therefore need not trigger credit default swaps to pay creditors, according to the International Swaps & Derivatives Association.
February 28, 2012
ECB Rejects Greek Debt as CollateralChristian Schulz, an economist at Berenberg Bank in London, was quoted saying, After the downgrade it was clear this was going to happen. The ECB isnt going to make an exception to its rule on not accepting defaulted collateral ...
February 27, 2012
Municipal Bond Yields Low, RisingTax-exempt investment-grade municipal bonds as measured by the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index have returned 2.41% so far this year, according to S&P Indices Vice President of Fixed Income Indices J.R. Rieger.