safe assets

The bull market in bonds is not over. The need for safe assets is just as acute and fewer assets today can be considered safe.

Expectations of future shortages in quality liquid bonds in US debt markets continue to persist. These shortages however are likely to be more acute for short-term paper. As a percentage of total government debt for example, treasury bills…

At its current pace the Fed is taking about half a trillion of MBS securities out of the market. In fact the Fed is now removing more than 100% of the paper that is being issued.

Below is the full text of a speech by Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo on regulation of non-bank financial institutions.

For domestic investors, the safe haven asset class are government liabilities if the government has substantially all liabilities in the currency it creates. For foreign investors, like domestic investors, you want to protect against…

The financial crisis has reduced the ranks of countries with pristine macro fundamentals. Thus, the availability of safe assets has declined precipitously. Investors in a bind where they have funds to invest but a limited number of options,…

The key to Spain's turning the corner as 2013 begins is the housing market. This takes on increasing importance given the reprieve in crisis interest rates. House prices are still falling and the economy is contracting despite the…