China added 1.03 million ounces (32 tons) of gold to its reserves in November 2022, according to an official statement by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on Dec. 7.  Meanwhile, its holdings of U.S. treasury bonds fell to a 12-year low. Analysts speculate that while China augments its gold reserves to hedge against risk,…

The Bank of Japan announced on Dec. 20 that it was raising the ceiling on its 10-year government bond yield from 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent. Japan’s economic average plunged that afternoon, and the Japanese yen rose in response, signaling investors that the last country with negative interest rates was going to start ending its…

China’s three-year “zero-COVID” approach has devastated the nation’s economy and fiscal revenue, and seriously diminished its tax base. Looking at the scale of the impact of zero-COVID on China’s economy, Zhang Tao, an economist serving China Construction Bank’s financial markets department, admitted in an article published on a Chinese tech company’s website Sina.com on Dec. 9 that…

The U.S. bond market on June 29, moved to price in an anticipated move by the Federal Reserve to cut the interest rate by a half-point in early 2023, after traders predicted that a likely recession would eventually force the central banks to slow down its aggressive tightening policies. The Fed and other central banks around the world…

One way to protect your investments from the fluctuations in the market is to invest in government bonds. These financial instruments—also referred to as treasury direct bonds or Treasury securities—can help stabilize your investment money and balance your portfolio because they are backed by the credit of the U.S. government. There are several types of…

Commentary There’s hardly a week that goes by where a news outlet or pundit isn’t calling for interest rates to go significantly higher. As the Federal Reserve further cuts its monthly bond purchases from its quantitative easing program and is expected to end its purchases in March, many still believe there’s little demand for U.S….

Commentary Despite mountains of evidence and ample warning, investors are mispositioned ahead of the Federal Reserve’s accelerated tapering plans. On Jan. 13, the New York Fed announced its new purchase schedule to start on Friday, Jan. 14, that will reduce its total purchases of U.S. Treasury and mortgaged-backed securities to $60 billion per month, which…

Commentary Inflationists are cheering the rise in lending growth as it appears to be a sign of reflation and economic growth as we head into the new year. With the Fed rapidly tapering its balance sheet, a rise in lending growth is providing validation that inflation is here to stay and that perhaps the economy…

News Analysis The U.S. dollar has had a tremendous 2021, defying the market’s bearish expectations since the beginning of the year. Over the last 18 months, the consensus on Wall Street has been that the dollar would endure significant weakness amid inflation worries, historically low interest rates, and investor confidence in a recovering global economy….

Commentary Fears over a technical default have sent Treasury yields higher this week as investors and money managers reduce uncertainty from their portfolios. While the United States has never defaulted on its debts and is unlikely to anytime soon, the recent decline in bond prices and rise in Treasury yields indicates the market believes it…