Salt Lake Tribune – Consumers and corporate chieftains alike should check an economic flare the bond market sent up on Tuesday.
Traders demanded higher yields on U.S. Treasury bonds maturing in two years vs. similar investments due 10 years from now. That’s a noteworthy reversal of the market norm called an ”inverted yield curve” by Wall Street types. This market rarity could signal a recession is around the bend.
It can put the squeeze on banks and other financial institutions, such as hedge funds, that typically borrow money at low short-term rates and lend it at higher long-term rates. And it can further take the steam out of a housing market, already showing signs of slowing as the Federal Reserve increases interest rates.
The Register asked the best-known authority on bonds – Bill Gross, who manages the world’s largest bond fund at Pimco – to explain this trading anomaly and why consumers should care about this seemingly convoluted indicator.
