In that light, a negative yield of 0.55% on index-linked bonds seems a good investment.
ECONOMIST: A very unusual sign of confidence in economic policy
Many index-linked bonds in America and Britain are trading on a negative real yield.
ECONOMIST: The remarkable demand for low-yielding government bonds
The rate of return on American index-linked government securities (also a real return) is roughly 4%.
Mr Takenaka also wants it to buy less conventional assets such as exchange-traded funds (index-linked equity funds).
The inflationary expectations contained in the yields of ten-year index-linked bonds have risen sharply in recent months.
And government debt is rising due to overgenerous civil-service pay and benefits (including index-linked pay rises twice a year).
Though this will change for new recruits from next year, existing public employees retire at 60, and on index-linked salary-related pensions.
And buyers of index-linked bonds have protection against deflation, since they will always be redeemed at their face value or higher.
ECONOMIST: A very unusual sign of confidence in economic policy
The Treasury confirmed it would continue using the RPI measure for calculating the return on both old and new index-linked bonds.
The same phenomenon can be observed in the index-linked government-bond market, where both interest payments and the maturity value are pegged to inflation.
ECONOMIST: The remarkable demand for low-yielding government bonds
According to the TUC, the government has agreed that new schemes will still be linked to earnings and be index-linked to protect them against inflation.
"For gilt investors, future cash flows on existing index-linked gilts will continue to be calculated by reference to RPI, " said the Economic Secretary, Sajid Javid.
If you compare the yield on conventional bonds with the yield on the index-linked Treasury bond that matures in 2028, the result is an implied inflation rate of 2.4%.
ECONOMIST: A very unusual sign of confidence in economic policy
If you're dependent on an index-linked annuity, the change being contemplated by the ONS could have cut its value by 15% over 20 years, with the cost widening every year.
They say there is no reason to believe the sales costs of an index-linked pension fund will be lower, and that a big cause of high costs is excessive regulation.
"Workers are being asked to work a little bit longer and to pay a bit more but they will be guaranteed a pension which is index-linked and inflation proof, " she said.
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In the U.K., index-linked gilts adjust for movements in the Retail Price Index (RPI) and are similar to their American cousins, Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS), which track the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
As I said, it will be a shock for the City: the shorter-term index-linked bonds, which have suffered in the past few months as a result of the consultation, will probably go up today.
One example, the iShares Global Inflation-Linked Bond Fund ( GTIP), seeks results that correspond to the BofA Merrill Lynch Global Diversified Inflation-Linked Index.
One option is to buy funds that hold Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS, whose returns are linked to the consumer-price index.
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Apply the savings to all programs linked to the consumer price index -- Social Security, government retirement, income tax brackets -- and it's big money.
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One route is to look at market expectations: investors expect a further 20% drop, judging by the prices of futures contracts linked to the Case-Shiller 10 city index.
Lower glycemic index diets have been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes and age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in Americans.
This note has a term of six years, is principal-protected, and the return is linked to the value of a global index basket made up of the Dow, the Nikkei, and the Euro Stoxx 50.
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