At this point, fixed interest rates, even for high yield (junk-rated) debt, are near historic lows.
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In contrast, in France, Germany, and the Netherlands, borrowing is mostly long term and at fixed interest rates.
In contrast, government loans offer fixed interest rates and flexible options, such as income-based repayment and deferral for hardship or public service.
Most home equity loans have fixed interest rates and 15-year terms.
Its pressure may have swayed Hong Kong's banks to phase out fixed interest rates on deposits, and stockbrokers to end their cartel in commissions.
These loans are fully guaranteed, mature between 35 years and 40 years, free of personal and corporate guarantees, and have low fixed interest rates of just under 3%.
Mr Volcker served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs when the US abandoned the gold standard and ended the Bretton Woods regime of fixed interest rates in the early 1970s.
Apart from student loans, Discover also provides personal loans which are unsecured loans with fixed interest rates, fixed terms and fixed payments, and are primarily intended to help customers consolidate existing debt, although they can be used for any reason.
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When it comes to fixed income and interest rates, Ben Bernanke is the biggest thorn in the side of retirees.
With bond yields rising since the Fed announced QE2, 30-year fixed rate mortgage interest rates went up to their highest level since the week of September 30 to 4.46%.
During the mortgage crisis, the vast majority of jumbos were adjustable-rate mortgages and hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages, which started at low fixed rates and switched to adjustable interest rates at the end of a set time period typically of five, seven or 10 years, said Keith Gumbinger, vice president at HSH.com, a mortgage-information website.
In the swaps market, in particular, it seems more attractive to receive floating interest rates and to pay fixed rates.
On the other hand, fixed rate mortgages have higher interest rates so it may not make sense to pay more to lock in a fixed rate for longer than you need it.
In theory, when interest rates are dropping, PE ratios should be expanding because fixed income becomes less competitive with equities when interest rates are low.
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"People can't get any income in fixed income" as interest rates remain low, he said.
When shopping for new credit, you might come across credit card deals offering variable interest rates that are lower than the fixed rates offered on other credit cards.
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And because most British mortgages are at variable interest rates, or are fixed for only a few years, sharp cuts in rates in Britain eased the burden on debtors more than rate cuts did in America, where many more mortgages are at fixed rates.
Mortgages can come with fixed, variable and adjustable interest rates, and typically offer longer terms of repayment than home equity loans.
By coincidence, the central bank on Monday approved a new rule designed to protect consumers from deceptive lending practices, including advertising practices that say interest rates are fixed when in fact they're not.
Keep in mind that municipal securities are subject to a number of risks including, but not limited to: Interest Rate Risk, the risk that the market value of fixed-income securities may fluctuate when interest rates change, and Prepayment Risk, the risk that the issuers of individual securities may prepay them at a time when interest rates have declined.
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Ye Linfeng, a researcher with Cnbenefit, said that China's smaller banks, which typically started issuing wealth-management products later than the major banks, are trying to bolster their fee income out of concern that the central bank's efforts to liberalize interest rates will increasingly eat into the fixed margin between deposit and lending rates they have traditionally relied on to turn a profit.
Variable-rate loans have lower initial rates than fixed-rate loans but can be more costly if interest rates rise.
Interest rates on global fixed-income securities currently range from less than 1% to 5%.
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For two decades the state controlled lending and also fixed as many as 200 separate interest rates.
Interest rates on the fixed-rated bonds dropped to 5.9% just in the past few weeks, so it's not as good a time to refinance.
Fixed income investors hoping that rising interest rates in the BRIC countries will mean a return to 2009 through mid-2010 jumps in bond fund gains are probably in for a rude awakening.
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In the euro area, it is much harder to turn capital gains into cash by borrowing more as home prices rise or to benefit from falling interest rates by refinancing fixed-rate mortgages, both of which have given a big boost to American household spending.
This is mainly because personal borrowing in Britain is mostly at variable interest rates, whereas on the continent it is largely at fixed rates.
If interest rates rise, active fixed-income investors could invest in short-term bonds, which tend to remain fairly stable in rising rate environments, or use floating rate funds, which are more insulated from the negative impact of rising rates.
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