When Uncle Sam stops buying, interest rates should rise and bond prices decline.
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It makes sense that the absence of Fed buying should move rates higher, but it is not necessarily true.
While much of the developed world was either cutting rates or buying bonds to further ease monetary policy, vast swaths of the developing world were increasing rates to rein in inflation.
World leading rates of buying and holding all manner of personal insurance policies would be just one example.
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Buying bonds drives down rates, but raising inflationary expectations could push rates higher.
Spain may have to impose losses on retail clients lured by high interest rates into buying products they now claim not to have understood.
They argue that lower interest rates make buying a home cheaper.
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To argue, when inflation is low, that low nominal interest rates make buying a home cheaper is as foolish as arguing that a loan paid off over five years is cheaper than one paid off over two.
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In Comcast, lawyers are trying to sue on behalf of 2 million Comcast customers in Philadelphia, accusing the company of scheming to raise rates by buying out competitors or swapping territories with them to build dominant market share.
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The results: In the first year, in the participating countries, sales increased by 7%, re-investment rates (buying new products when old ones mature) went up by 24%, and far fewer customers canceled policies (all astounding numbers in a low-growth, mature business).
In turn, by buying Treasury bonds, they reduce interest rates, which supports spending and ensures that American consumers keep buying Asian goods.
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Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, has kept interest rates artificially low, and prices unusually high, by buying bonds in an effort to keep interest rates low and stimulate the struggling US economy.
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By some accounts shoppers came out in droves, spending more and buying on credit at higher rates than recent years.
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People are not buying more houses now that rates are 3% than when rates were 5% or 8% or higher.
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And the Federal Reserve on Wednesday made a fourth foray into "quantitative easing" to keep real interest rates low by buying bonds and printing money.
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The Federal Reserve Bank will extend its Operation Twist program, a bond buying program that forces interest rates to historic lows and weakens the value of the dollar.
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But the prospect of sluggish growth also reinforced views that the Fed will continue to rely on bond-buying to hold down interest rates, which generally boosts the appeal of stocks.
The U.S. economy remains sluggish, the Federal Reserve is keeping rates low by buying trillions of dollars of debt, and for all its troubles the U.S. remains the safest investment in the world.
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Should quantititave easing be expanded it would most likely involve the Fed buying more Treasuries and driving interest rates even lower.
It is popularly argued that higher house prices in relation to incomes are justified by lower interest rates, which make buying a home cheaper.
Growth like that means inflation pressures suggest demand is high in India, people and corporations are buying goods and services with interest rates that are next to nothing.
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If the Fed pursues a new round of quantitative easing, it will be buying a highly liquid commodity at market rates.
But that's partly due to the Federal Reserve's policy of maintaining historically low interest rates through its bond-buying program, he thinks.
Many Fed insiders expect the end to their mortgage buying to have a mild effect on rates, a half-percentage-point increase or possibly much less.
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ValuEngine rates Wintrust a HOLD so buying this name is not as compelling compared to Umpqua Holdings ( UMPQ) and Whitney Holdings ( WTNY), both of which I profiled last week.
On the contrary, in an interview with CNBC at the start of the week, the Nebraska native looked favorably towards the sector, admitting that, given the current low rates, he would be buying single-family homes if he was able to.
Two ideas are on the table: commit to keep short-term interest rates near zero for even longer than through mid-2013, and restart a bond-buying program aimed at driving already-low long-term interest rates lower.
Rising interest rates have ended the home-buying boom and made renting apartments much more appealing.
Quantitative easing is a bond-buying program to lower long-term interest rates.
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The Fed has actively targeted the housing sector, buying up mortgages and pushing longer-term rates lower, which has also boosted auto industry by allowing for cheap financing.
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