Countries which have been downgraded by ratings agencies often face higher rates of interest on subsequent borrowings.
Indeed, the State of California is said to have a major debt problem, but does anyone think for a second that Apple or Occidental Petroleum would pay higher rates of interest on debt solely for operating in a state run by a profligate government?
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At the current price, the good news of rising profits and low interest rates is balanced by the bad news of higher taxes and higher interest rates to come.
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The ninth monthly fall in a row was attributed to fear of an American slowdown, the threat of higher interest rates and the promise of heavier taxes.
Perhaps consumers have ignored the chill of higher long-term interest rates because they feel the warm glow of higher share prices.
It indicates that the government is a higher risk for default, and lenders will subsequently demand a higher rate of return with higher interest rates.
Lenders and rating agencies are heartened by their models, which show that it would take a combination of higher interest rates and falling house prices to make a worrying number of mortgage loans go bad.
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Simultaneously, equities might face the headwinds of higher interest rates and reduced consumer confidence resulting in an even slower rate of economic growth than what currently exists.
Monetary instability will slow employment growth and further erode confidence in government at the same time that higher interest rates will add billions of dollars to the interest cost on the national debt.
Worse still would be a combination of a return to higher levels of interest rates combined with a decline in crop prices.
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Higher interest rates mean higher mortgage rates for homeowners, especially the 10 million of them whose mortgages are tied to federal interest rates.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the agreement limits charges by dentists, doctors or other health care providers in advance and requires clearer disclosure of the higher interest rates that kick in if charges are not paid off at the end of a promotional period.
Not only does a fixed rate prevent a central bank from using interest rates to prevent an economy from overheating (because higher interest rates would push up the value of the currency), but it also encourages too much foreign-currency borrowing when foreign interest rates are lower than local ones.
The central bank will have to either join foreign sellers of US debt in sending interest rates higher (in the hopes of giving the dollar some footing and allowing high rates to encourage the return of real buyers) or ramp up the printing presses to keep the long end of the yield curve from spiking.
The crux of the plan is to make it easier for homeowners locked in at higher interest rates to take advantage of today's record lows.
Among the beneficiaries of higher interest rates will be companies with little or no long-term debt.
Issuers of debt will have to pay more for capital in the form of higher interest rates.
Mortgage refinancing, a generous source of cash to consumers, has dried up because of higher interest rates.
The prospect of higher interest rates would encourage more people to buy homes, cars, or other big-ticket items.
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Some dealers think that the recent surge in sales was due to fears of higher interest rates to come.
The return of higher interest rates ought to be taken as another sign that Japan's economy is at last getting healthy again.
But if the Bank of Japan takes a back seat in future, other buyers will have to be tempted into the market by means of higher interest rates.
Higher interest rates, of course, would attract even more buyers.
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Each time the markets have been well prepared for a modest rise, and share prices have rallied after the Fed has acted, blunting the impact of higher interest rates.
Given the earthquake in Japan and the prospect of higher interest rates in the U.S. and Europe, we expect to see profit margins for this division to come under pressure.
Some market experts think today's negative sentiment goes beyond the Fed statement--that the combination of higher interest rates, weaker housing prices and higher oil prices may have already baked the cake.
Adhering to the public-spending plans set in last November's budget and raising taxes to lower borrowing, although an unlikely prospect, would dampen demand, so reducing expectations of higher interest rates, weakening sterling and boosting exports.
There is a definite balance between those who are buying into the Goldilocks scenario of an economic recovery with low inflation and those who are worried about the slow pace of economic recovery and the threat of higher interest rates and inflation.
In the long run, theory suggests that higher growth, other things equal, should mean higher interest rates for a given rate of inflation.
It was considered the supportable ceiling for sovereign debt in the old days of higher interest, but current 100% levels of debt to GDP require low interest rates or the sovereign goes into default.
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