Bonds
Annuity sales rise, buoyed by market fears and higher interest rates. What to know before you buy
Svetikd | E+ | Getty Images Annuities are on track for a banner year as consumers flee stock volatility and insurers offer more attractive rates. Limra, an insurance industry group, forecasts annuity sales of $267 billion to $288 billion in 2022, eclipsing the record ($265 billion) set in 2008. Consumers pumped $255 billion into annuities […]
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Russia thinks it has found a way around Washington’s dollar bond payment blockade
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov (seen here with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2019) reportedly told Russian newspaper Vedomosti that Moscow will continue to service external debts in rubles, but foreign Eurobond holders will need to open ruble and hard currency accounts with Russian banks in order to receive payments. Mikhail Svetlov | Getty Images […]
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Investors revisit muni bonds amid higher yields and strong credit
David Jakle | Image Source | Getty Images It’s been a tough year for municipal bonds, with investors cashing out amid rising interest rates. However, higher yields and strong credit may be sparking a shift, experts say. While investors piled a record-breaking $96.8 billion of net money into U.S. muni mutual and exchange-traded funds in […]
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Need to tap your 529 college savings plan soon? Here’s how to handle a stock market downturn
Klaus Vedfelt | DigitalVision | Getty Images Months of stock market volatility may deliver a costly surprise to parents sending children to school this fall: smaller-than-expected 529 college savings plan balances. The average 529 account size was $30,287 in 2021, according to the College Savings Plans Network, but families may now have lower balances, financial […]
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Russian stocks may be ‘essentially worthless,’ MSCI research suggests
Russian stocks may have “no value” compared to the prices listed on the Moscow Exchange, new research from MSCI has suggested. Moscow ceased trading after stocks capitulated on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reopening a month later after the exchange’s longest shutdown since the fall of the Soviet Union. The Moscow Exchange also […]
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Russia is now exposed to a historic debt default: Here’s what happens next
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 16, 2022. Sergei Guneev | Sputnik | via Reuters The U.S. has announced that it will not extend an exemption permitting Moscow to pay foreign debt to American investors in U.S. dollars, potentially forcing Russia into […]
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No recession ahead: Evercore ISI predicts S&P 500 will jump 22% from current levels
While retail investors head for the exits as stock prices sharply fluctuate, Evercore ISI’s Julian Emanuel wants to put money to work. He calls the market environment very ugly, but he believes the economy will avert a recession — particularly due to healthy credit markets and continued gains. “The path to higher [stock] prices really […]
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Bond market counting on the Fed to do less when it comes to interest rate hikes
Stock investors have been scared by rising bond yields, and now bond investors are spooked by the bearishness of the stock market’s sell-off. The markets are worried about a softening economy and are now pricing in expectations that the Federal Reserve may not be able to raise interest rates as much as previously expected. “I […]
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U.S. bars Russia from paying bondholders through American banks, increasing default risk
The Kremlin towers and Ivan the Great Cathedral in Moscow. Kirill Kudryavtsev | Afp | Getty Images The Biden administration will ban Russia’s government from paying bondholders through American banks starting Wednesday morning, the Treasury Department said. The move increases the odds that Russia will default on its outstanding debt. It is the latest sanction […]
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Stephen Roach calls stagflation his base case, warns market is unprepared for the consequences
Stagflation is making a comeback, according to former Morgan Stanley Asia chairman Stephen Roach. He warns the U.S. is on a dangerous path that leads to higher prices coupled with slower growth. “This inflation problem is widespread, it’s persistent and likely to be protracted,” Roach told CNBC’s “Fast Money” on Thursday. “The markets are not […]
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