U.S. bonds rise, eyes on budget talks
NEW YORK, Dec 19 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasuries rose on
Wednesday after a larger-than-expected decline in housing starts
and no sign of further progress toward averting a $600 billion
crunch of U.S. tax increases and spending cuts before year-end.
“Bond prices are firmer. There was a larger than expected
drop in housing starts, weaker applications for mortgages, and
there’s no forward progress in the equity market,” said Ian
Lyngen, senior government bond strategist at CRT Capital in
Stamford, Connecticut.
U.S. yields rise on hints of progress in fiscal talks
NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury yields on Tuesday
rose to their highest since October as U.S. President Barack
Obama and Republican lawmakers edged closer to a deal to avert a
fiscal crisis in early 2013.
Year-end supply and profit-taking also kept upward pressure
on yields, strategists said.
U.S. yields steady on fiscal talks
NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury yields on Tuesday
steadied just below their highest levels since October as U.S.
lawmakers edged closer to a deal to avert a fiscal crisis in
early 2013.
According to a source familiar with the talks, President
Barack Obama made a counter-offer to Republicans that included a
major change in position on tax hikes for the wealthy and helped
narrow the differences between the two sides.
U.S. debt slips on signs of budget progress
NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury prices fell on
Monday as U.S. politicians negotiated ways to avert tax hikes
and spending cuts that investors fear would hurt economic growth
next year.
Prices dipped to session lows when a White House official
said President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John
Boehner met at the White House on Monday to discuss the “fiscal
cliff.”
U.S. debt slips on signs of budget talks progress
NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury prices slipped on
Monday as U.S. politicians took a small but significant step
towards averting the wave of tax hikes and spending cuts that
investors fear could hurt economic growth next year.
Republican House Speaker John Boehner proposed an increase
in taxes that, while still far short of what President Barack
Obama is seeking, represented the first real movement in “fiscal
cliff” negotiations ahead of a Dec. 31 deadline.
Ultra-short bond fund survives in land of zero rates
NEW YORK, Dec 11 (Reuters) – Stranded in the land of
near-zero interest-rate policy, it’s a wonder any ultra-short
bond fund can survive, let alone be among the seven to earn a
five-star Morningstar rating among 80 ultra-short bond funds.
But the Ridgeworth U.S. Government Securities Ultra-Short
Bond Fund fund has managed to thrive, passing its
10-year anniversary this year and beating the average fund
during that time despite rock-bottom rates.
The fading strength of U.S. exports
U.S. exports posted their biggest drop in nearly four years in October, pushing the U.S. trade deficit higher despite a decline in imports to their lowest level in 1-1/2 years.
The data reveal that U.S. exports of goods and services have now decelerated to a year-on-year growth rate of just 1 percent compared with 2.8 percent in the third quarter of 2012 and 11.5 percent last year at this time, writes Deutsche Bank Securities chief U.S. economist Joseph LaVorgna in a research note.
Early dividends could help holiday sales, some say
NEW YORK (Reuters) – NEW YORK, Nov 28 (Reuters) – They might not arrive in pretty wrapping paper with a bow, but dividends paid out early to avoid a potential tax increase next year could provide an unexpected boost to holiday sales.
With tax rates on dividends set to more than double for many earners in 2013 if Congress does not reach a deal on the so-called fiscal cliff of tax increases and budget cuts, several companies are trying to get special dividends in “under the wire,” notes Citigroup credit strategist Erin Lyons.
Could the private sector stage a stimulus plan?
Since the financial crisis, the federal government has implemented a fiscal stimulus plan and the Federal Reserve took to the road of monetary stimulus, actively seeking new routes to revive the U.S. economy.
The private sector, however, has been laggard in adding its muscle to the revival efforts. Private firms have added employees, but very cautiously, and wages are stagnant. Meanwhile, a huge amount of cash sits idle on corporate balance sheets.
Shares sink on global economic worries; oil falls
NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) – Global stocks fell for a
seventh day on Thursday after data showed the euro zone entered
a recession in the third quarter and on fear of the U.S. “fiscal
cliff,” and oil prices declined despite a flare-up of violence
in the Gaza Strip.
The disappointing economic data overshadowed the news of a
second day of fighting in the Gaza Strip, which sparked worries
of an escalation that could ultimately disrupt oil supplies.
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