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.

 

 

Posted in Investing in TIPS | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Investing in TIPS | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Investing in TIPS | Leave a comment

U.S. Inflation Rose 0.4% In October; Does That Lock In A Fed Rate Increase In December?

Summary

  • While 0.4% looks high, core inflation remained in the moderate zone, just above 2.0% over the last 12 months.
  • Energy costs, along with shelter costs, accounted for most of the October increase.
  • There is nothing in today’s report that should cause the Federal Reserve to delay an interest rate increase in December.

Read my full analysis at SeekingAlpha.com

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

And here are the new TIPS inflation indexes for December.

Posted in Investing in TIPS | Leave a comment