Attention Bankers: It’s Time To Raise Your Sorry CD Savings Rates

Summary

  • The Federal Reserve’s key short-term interest rate has increased 25 basis points.
  • Shorter-term Treasury yields have increased as much as 87 basis points since May.
  • But interest rates on bank CDs have barely budged. It’s time for savers to benefit from higher CD rates.

Read my full analysis – and join the discussion – on SeekingAlpha.com

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U.S. Inflation Rose 0.2% In November, But Holders Of Inflation Protected Investments Won’t Like This Report

Summary

  • November prices were choppy, with costs of gasoline and shelter creating most of the increase.
  • Non-seasonally adjusted inflation fell 0.16%, which will cause a drop in TIPS principal balances in January.
  • With rising real yields, TIPS are looking to be a strong investment in 2017.

Read my full analysis at SeekingAlpha.com

Also, I have updated my Tracking Inflation and I Bonds page with these new numbers.

And here are the new January Inflation Indexes for TIPS.

 

 

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Here’s How A Dedicated Cord-Cutter Views AT&T’s New ‘DirecTV Now’ Service

 Summary

  • The grandfathered promotional price of $35 for 100+ channels makes DirecTV Now very attractive to cord cutters.
  • And then you get a free 4th generation AppleTV? Isn’t this a no brainer?
  • With this aggressive pricing and expansive service, AT&T has fired a shot across the bow of its TV and cellular competitors.

Yup, this is way off-topic for me, but I’ve been using this innovative new streaming service for a week now and I’ve posted my analysis at SeekingAlpha.com, if you are interested. DirecTV Now includes CNBC, CNBC World, Bloomberg TV and Fox Business – along with a slew of news, sports and entertainment – at a very reasonable opening price.

Read the full article at SeekingAlpha.com

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After A Month Of Bond-Market Turmoil, Here’s Where Inflation-Protected Investments Stand

Summary

  • TIPS have held up relatively well because of a rise in the inflation-breakeven rate.
  • We haven’t entered uncharted waters — today’s TIPS yields are in line with recent numbers.
  • Bear market for TIPS? Not yet, and doesn’t seem likely.

I’m predicting that TIPS will be an attractive investment heading into 2017.

Read my full analysis on SeekingAlpha.com

Posted in Investing in TIPS | 1 Comment

10-Year TIPS Reopening Auctions With A Real Yield Of 0.369%

Summary

  • The real yield was about 37 basis points higher than the early October trend.
  • The inflation-breakeven rate of 1.90% was the highest since May 2015.
  • TIPS are drawing attention as fears of future inflation rise.

Today’s reopening auction of CUSIP 912828S50 – creating a 9-year, 8-month Treasury Inflation-Protected Security – resulted in a real yield of 0.369%. Here’s is the Treasury’s auction summary.

Read my full analysis at SeekingAlpha.com

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