Observation Deck: What Does ‘Extended Period’ Really Mean?
Observation Deck
March 09, 2010 Ninh Chung
The Federal Reserve decided on January 27 to keep interest rates at historically low levels despite pronouncing a continued pickup in economic activity and a deceleration of job losses. Faced with a double digit unemployment rate, tight credit conditions, and Read More
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Studying the Greeks
Observation Deck
March 01, 2010 Debi Hanson
What a difference a stimulus makes. As we entered this global recession/credit crisis a few years ago, governments around the world came up with plans to support their banking systems and stimulate growth in their respective economies. Read More
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What Does ‘Extended Period’ Really Mean?
Observation Deck
February 01, 2010 Ninh Chung

The Federal Reserve decided on January 27 to keep interestrates at historically low levels despite pronouncing a continued pickup in economic activity and a deceleration of job losses. Faced with a double digit unemployment rate, tight credit conditions, and real estate price depreciation, the decision was not surprising. However, the federal funds rate has been pegged between 0 percent and 0.25 percent since December 2008, and the Fed’s ongoing comment that economic conditions “are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period” does cause us to re-ask the following questions: “What does the Fed mean by ‘extended period,’ and how should client portfolios be positioned?” 

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Money Fund Yields to Remain Low
Observation Deck
January 04, 2010 Minh Trang

As we enter 2010, fixed-income investments in the short end of the yield curve are trading at levels near historic lows. Even money fund investors are now facing yields hovering just above zero. This downward pressure has been caused by several factors.

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No Risk vs. Know Risk
Observation Deck
December 01, 2009 Adam Dean

Uncertainty in capital markets has made some firms (and boards) opt to  forbid investing any of their precious cash in securities that have credit risk. Even fixed income issuers and money funds with well understood and transparent risk profiles, both

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Gold Hits $1,072. Is Inflation on the Horizon?
Observation Deck
November 02, 2009 Debi Hanson

Historically, gold has been a precious commodity used for trade, jewelry, medicine and decoration. In more recent times, it has been used as a hedge against inflation. There are many investors who currently believe our country is heading into an inflationary environment, pushing up the price of gold. But we do not see any data to support the position that inflation will spiral out of control
anytime in the near future.

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The Future of Money Market Funds
Observation Deck
October 01, 2009
The month of September 2009 proved to be an important one for money market mutual funds, with rising signs of a return to normalcy for this vital investment segment. Read More
Why the Fed and Politics Shouldn't Mix
Observation Deck
September 01, 2009
President Obama's reappointment of Ben Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve was widely viewed as a positive for the financial markets Read More
Finding Value in a Low Yield Environment
Observation Deck
August 03, 2009
As hopes have risen that the U.S. economy is nearing a recovery, investors' appetite for higher-yielding securities has returned. Read More
Why Long-Term Rates are Rising
Observation Deck
July 01, 2009
Late last year, the Federal Open Market Committee cut the target Federal Funds rate to a range of between 0 - 0.25 percent, in an effort to stimulate the economy. Read More
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