Japan loosens its grip on long-term interest rates

Oct 31, 2023
The Bank of Japan’s "yield curve control policy" could be on its way out as central banks around the world raise rates to beat inflation.
Until recently, the Bank of Japan was trying to keep interest rates on bonds low to stimulate the economy. Above, the Bank of Japan building.
Richard A. Brooks/AFP via Getty Images

An inverted yield curve usually signals recession. Is it wrong this time?

Sep 7, 2023
For well over a year, the interest paid by long-term Treasury bonds has been lower than that of shorter-term debt. But a recession hasn't happened yet.
When the yield curve inverts, it indicates that bond investors are betting on a coming recession.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

The bond market yield curve is inverted — which some economists think foreshadows a downturn

Mar 2, 2023
The yield for a two-year note is roughly a whole percentage point higher than the yield on the 10-year Treasury right now. And that often precedes a recession.
A 10-year bond theoretically locks up your money for 10 years in exchange for some yield or other. But its worth depends on the what the future looks like with inflation, interest rates and the economy.
VallarieE/Getty Images

Recession fears may be receding

Nov 7, 2019
Some recent economic indicators suggest the risk of a recession in the U.S. over the next 12 to 18 months is diminishing.
Some jovial traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in 2009.
Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images

A guided tour of the yield curve

Aug 15, 2019
The federal government sells more than a dozen different kinds of bonds. They all have very different purposes.
Traders work before the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange where the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 800 points after talk of an inverted yield curve on August 14, 2019 in New York City.
Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

Why this yield curve inversion could be different

Aug 14, 2019
This time around, it may not be telling us that a recession's on the way.
Investors, spooked by economic fears, dumped stocks on Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 800 points. Above, the New York Stock Exchange.
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

When the yield curve inverts, how nervous should we be?

May 29, 2019
Historically, an inverted yield curve has spelled recession.
The New York Stock Exchange on a rainy day in New York City last week.
Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Is the yield curve talking to us?

Jun 28, 2018
A lot of attention is being paid right now to what’s known as the yield curve. And if you don’t know what that is, it’s essentially the difference between interest rates on short-term and long-term government bonds. In a growing economy, you typically see higher rates on the 10-year Treasury note than you do on […]

The Fed talks interest rates with an eye toward the yield curve

Jun 12, 2018
The Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day meeting today to talk interest rates. The Fed is expected to raise its target rate by a quarter of a point for the second time this year. And with unemployment reaching a new low last month and inflation creeping up, analysts expect officials to keep raising rates […]

What is the bond market trying to tell us about the economy?

Jun 30, 2017
Many investors focus on the stock market. But the bond market’s been doing some interesting things lately, things that are getting investors’ and economists’ attention. Since the beginning of this year, there’s been a decided flattening of the yield curve on Treasuries — the difference between the interest rates on short-term bonds and those that […]