Flattening of the yield curve is when short-term and long-term bonds do not undergo noticeable changes in rates. This makes long-term bonds less attractive to investors.
Such a curve can be considered a psychological marker, which may mean that investors are losing faith in the long-term upside potential of the market.
One way to combat a flattening yield curve is to use the so-called Barbell strategy, balancing the portfolio between long-term and short-term bonds. This strategy works best when bonds are stacked or staggered at regular intervals.
The Treasury Current Yield Curve graphically shows the current yield versus maturity of the most recently traded US Treasury securities and is the primary benchmark used in the pricing of fixed income securities.
Taper antrum refers to the 2013 collective reactionary panic that caused US Treasury yields to spike after investors learned that the Federal Reserve was slowly putting a brake on its quantitative easing (QE) program.
A bond’s zero volatility spread tells the investor the present value of the bond plus its cash flows at specific points on the Treasury curve where cash flows are generated.
The Bank Note Swap Rate (BBSW) is a short-term interest rate used as a benchmark for valuing Australian dollar derivatives and securities, primarily floating rate bonds.
A basis point is a standard measure of interest rates and other percentages in finance.
– One basis point is equal to 1/100th of 1%, or 0.01% (and 0.0001 in decimal).