Interest Rates Archives - Page 10 of 11 - Acropolis Investment Management

30 Oct 2014

Federal Reserve Ends Quantitative Easing

During the 2008 financial crisis, Warren Buffet compared the US economy to a heart attack victim lying flat on the floor. Buffet’s analogy has continued to be a useful analogy as the Federal Reserve pumped medicine into the economy in the form of buying bonds on the open market in a program known as quantitative easing, or simply QE. That program came to an end yesterday, so you could carry… Read More

By David Ott Tags: Federal Reserve, Interest Rates

21 Oct 2014

Lower for Longer

One of the interesting implications of the recent selloff in stocks and rally in bonds is that investors have quickly shifted gears regarding when they think that the Federal Reserve will begin to raise interest rates. Right now, the market expects the Fed to announce that they will end their bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing, at their meeting on October 29th. There has been some scuttlebutt that the Fed… Read More

By David Ott Tags: Bonds, Interest Rates

22 Sep 2014

What if You Called The Bond Market Perfectly?

It’s an interesting question. The ability to call the tops and bottoms with perfect accuracy is considered the “holy grail” of bond market investing. We spend a great deal of effort talking to clients about the risk of trying to make speculative calls – the risk of being wrong of course. Just as an exercise I thought it would be neat to imagine what it would be like if we… Read More

By Cliff Reynolds Tags: Asset Liability Management, Bonds, Institutional Investors, Interest Rates, Portfolio Strategy

20 Sep 2014

Why Aren’t Interest Rates Higher?

With a lot of focus being put on the coming end to the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing campaign, this article will delve into some of the other factors impacting interest rates in the US. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has maintained a steady course ever since Chairman Bernanke first hinted at the end of quantitative easing in the spring of 2013. The “Taper” which is scheduled to complete this… Read More

By Cliff Reynolds Tags: Asset Liability Management, Bonds, Economy, Federal Reserve, Interest Rates, International Investing

17 Sep 2014

ALM Insights – September 2014

ALM Insights is focused on banks and other institutions that use their portfolio to manage risk on both sides of their balance sheet. It takes an in-depth look at securities investment strategies, balance sheet and asset/liability strategies, regulatory topics and general economic information. To view this issue, click the image below. In This Issue: What if You Called The Market Perfectly? The Impact of Fed Tightening Why Aren’t Interest Rates Higher?

By Cliff Reynolds Tags: Asset Liability Management, Bonds, Economy, Federal Reserve, Forecasting, Institutional Investors, Interest Rates, International Investing, Portfolio Strategy

9 Jul 2014

When Interest Rates Rise

With the Federal Reserve now unwinding their bond purchasing program known as quantitative easing, it’s likely that the Fed will start to raise short-term interest rates at the end of 2015 or the beginning of 2016 (assuming no new information). Now that we ‘know’ that the Fed will raise rates, what will happen when interest rates rise? The short answer is that it depends. I know that’s an unsatisfying answer,… Read More

By David Ott Tags: Bonds, Interest Rates

19 Jun 2014

ALM Insights – June 2014

ALM Insights is focused on banks and other institutions that use their portfolio to manage risk on both sides of their balance sheet. It takes an in-depth look at securities investment strategies, balance sheet and asset/liability strategies, regulatory topics and general economic information. To view this issue, click the image below. In This Issue: Remember The Taper Tantrum? What’s My Duration? Bond Sector Performance

By Cliff Reynolds Tags: Asset Liability Management, Bonds, Economy, Federal Reserve, Forecasting, Interest Rates, Portfolio Strategy

14 May 2014

Treasury Bonds Mystery

Yesterday, someone asked me what’s going on in the markets. I said that stocks are flopping around zero – plus two percent or minus two percent depending on what you look at, nothing really. I said that the interesting story, in my opinion, was that the yield on bonds has been dropping all year, much to everyone’s surprise. When I hung up the phone, I looked up the yield and… Read More

By David Ott Tags: Bonds, Interest Rates

25 Mar 2014

ALM Insights – March 2014

ALM Insights is focused on banks and other institutions that use their portfolio to manage risk on both sides of their balance sheet. It takes an in-depth look at securities investment strategies, balance sheet and asset/liability strategies, regulatory topics and general economic information. To view this issue, click the image below. In This Issue: The Plan to Wind Down Fannie and Freddie Economic Analysis – Fed Digests Mixed Data Bond… Read More

By Cliff Reynolds Tags: Asset Liability Management, Bonds, Credit Risk, Economy, Federal Reserve, Institutional Investors, Interest Rates, Portfolio Strategy

17 Dec 2013

ALM Insights – December 2013

ALM Insights is focused on banks and other institutions that use their portfolio to manage risk on both sides of their balance sheet. It takes an in-depth look at securities investment strategies, balance sheet and asset/liability strategies, regulatory topics and general economic information. To view this issue, click the image below. In This Issue: 2013 Bond Performance Review Economic Analysis – Taper Time ALM Model Year End Checkup

By Cliff Reynolds Tags: Asset Liability Management, Bonds, Credit Risk, Economy, Federal Reserve, Inflation, Interest Rates, Portfolio Strategy

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