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at CNBC.com (Mar 30, 2012)
GOVT vs. ETF Alternatives
GOVT Description
The iShares Barclays U.S. Treasury Bond Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Barclays Capital U.S. Treasury Bond Index.
See more details on sponsor's website
See more details on sponsor's website
Country: United States
Key Info
- In Your Portfolio: Broad U.S. Bond ETFs, A Guide to U.S. Government Bond ETFs
- Asset Class Performance: Bonds
- All
- | Earnings
- | Dividends
- | M&A
- | On the move
- Monday, March 18, 4:57 AM Ron Rowland offers additional highlights on the recently expanded lineup of commission-free ETFs over at Fidelity including the following caveat: Funds not held for 30 days by retail investors or 60 days by RIAs using Fidelity as a custodian will be subject to a $7.95 per-trade commission. Some RIAs have complained that the longer holding period directed at them is unfair. Rowland spells out the full list of affected ETFs here. Comment!
- Sunday, March 17, 4:06 AM The Treasury is investigating whether investors are accumulating government bonds in order to boost prices after $78.87B worth of 10-year notes used as collateral in repo market weren't returned to the loan counter-party on Monday. Over the week, the cost of borrowing Treasurys for use in the repo market or for short sales jumped more than three-fold, only easing after a government auction. 3 Comments [Global & FX, U.S. Economy]
- Wednesday, January 2, 4:47 AM The amount of debt that the G7 and four of the BRIC nations will need to refinance this year will fall by $220B to $7.38T, Bloomberg calculates, although the amount the U.S. will have to cover will increase to $2.9T from $2.6T. Overall government debt returned 4.5% on average last year, led by a 78% gain on Greek bonds. However, yields on major sovereign debt are expected to remain low. Comment! [Global & FX, U.S. Economy]
- Monday, October 15, 2012, 4:04 PM After much conjecture, BlackRock (BLK) will indeed slash fees on 6 of its ETPs, including the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), as it tries to regain market share from Vanguard, among others. The company is also reorganizing its ETF sales team, and, for the first time, rolling out TV ads. Comment! [Financials]
- Monday, August 20, 2012, 4:51 AM The gap between bank deposits and loans is rising at the quickest pace in two years, coming in at $1.75T on August 8, when deposits stood at $8.87T and lending $7.12T. The gap is well above the $100B average in the 10 years before credit markets started breaking down. Banks are using the money to snap up U.S. debt, buying $136.4B worth this year, more than twice the $62.6B for all of 2011. It's unsustainable, says an analyst. Comment! [Financials, U.S. Economy]
- Monday, June 25, 2012, 7:10 AM Treasurys return to the top of the U.S. fixed income heap, up 2.9% thus far in Q2, beating corporate bonds, mortgages, and munis. With the 10-year at 1.6%, a sampling of a consensus formed: "You're going to sleep less badly by buying a (Treasury)," "We have a scarcity of true safe-haven assets," "There's not going to be a serious backup" in rates, "People are terrified." 3 Comments [U.S. Economy]
- Monday, June 25, 2012, 5:49 AM Bunds are losing some of their safe haven status, as investors wonder whether Germany can continue to bear the burden of backstopping the eurozone crisis. U.S. Treasurys are likely to benefit, as few other havens remain; Switzerland and Japan are trying to deter investors to keep their currencies from appreciating, while Denmark and its northern neighbors aren't large enough to be true havens. 2 Comments [Global & FX]
- Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 3:14 AM Pimco's Total Return Fund increased its exposure to U.S. Treasury-related securities to 35% in May from 31%, and raised its leverage on the $261B portfolio. 2 Comments
- Wednesday, May 23, 2012, 4:45 PM It's got to be some sort of bottom (or top depending on point of view) when bond fund managers hit the WSJ en masse to talk about how they've cut exposure to Europe and bulked up their holdings of "safe" Treasurys. Comment! [U.S. Economy, Global & FX]
- Monday, May 14, 2012, 8:40 AM The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hits its lowest level of 2012, -6 bps to 1.77%. The long bond is off 7 bps to 2.94%, within a few ticks of its YTD low. One can't help but reflect on the near-universal bearishness towards Treasurys of top bond fund managers 60 basis points ago. TLT +1.3% premarket. 1 Comment [U.S. Economy]
- Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 5:03 PM In a presentation cleverly named "Deficits Don't Matter," Jeff Gundlach asks "How could you raise interest rates?" Unemployment would be 11% if the participation rate hadn't dove as it has, and it could take 8 years to gain back all the jobs lost in the recession. Another reason is the size of the government debt. When Bernanke says he's in no rush to hike, Gundlach absolutely believes him. 13 Comments [U.S. Economy]
- Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 7:48 AM "Not suddenly, but over time, gradually higher rates of inflation should be the result of QE policies and (endless ZIRP)," writes Bill Gross, the bond man turning goldbug (?) as he urges a higher allocation to real assets as a way to combat this. Gross also recommends shortish-duration fixed income as well as stocks offering 3-4% yields. 3 Comments
- Monday, April 30, 2012, 10:22 AM Treasury prices continue to rally, the 10-year note yield off another 2 bps to 1.91%, the lowest level in nearly 3 months. Equity and Treasury prices have faithfully moved inversely to each other over past years, but the move higher in stocks since last fall has not led to a sell-off in government paper. Operation Twist in action? 2 Comments [U.S. Economy]
- Friday, April 27, 2012, 7:31 AM "I do not believe economic conditions are likely to warrant an exceptionally low federal funds rate (until 2014)," says the Richmond Fed's Jeff Lacker, commenting on his FOMC dissent. The leading hawk of those now voting on policy, he expects inflationary pressures are likely to require a bump in rates by mid-2013. Comment! [U.S. Economy]
- Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 3:05 PM Bernanke takes on Sheila Bair, disavowing any Fed responsibility for creating a bond bubble and saying its up to those owning government paper to manage their own risks. There are good reasons for rates to stay low for now, he says, not ready to "declare victory" and let fixed income price on its own. 22 Comments [U.S. Economy]
- Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 2:12 PM Stocks stumble just a little following changes to the FOMC's economic forecast which show an upgraded view of the economy and inflation's speed - not the sort of estimates put together by a group fixing to launch additional policy easing. DJIA +0.3%, S&P 500 +1%. 3 Comments [U.S. Economy, On the Move]