Money Market Archives

NEW YORK (AP) — Treasury prices fell sharply Tuesday following a jump in wholesale inflation numbers in June.Inflation is a worry for fixed-income investors because rising prices erode returns. The reported increase surprised investors who had expected costs wouldn't increase while the economy remains weak. Read more»

BOSTON (AP) — Investors shook off some of their caution in this year's second quarter amid a rising market, shifting the largest amount into stock and bond mutual funds in more than two years, a fund industry consultant reported Tuesday.A total $136 billion flowed into stock and bond funds during the April-through-June period, according to New York-based Strategic Insight. Read more»

After an alarming jump last month, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note as fallen this week, to the lowest level since May at one point Wednesday.Lower yields are hard on fixed-income investors, but the recent drop is good news for mortgage shoppers, and can even help support stock prices. Read more»

BOSTON (AP) — With U.S. stock mutual funds coming off their biggest quarterly gain in nearly a decade, what's not to like about the market now? Read more»

CHICAGO (AP) — Dividend stocks haven't had this bad a year in, well, forever.Publicly traded companies reduced dividends a record 617 times in the first six months, with even relatively healthy companies slashing them under pressure from a bad economy. That outnumbered the number of dividend increases — there were 516 in the period — for the first time since at least 1956 when Standard & Poor's records start. Read more»

Early July is not a time we automatically think about things like taxes and portfolio rebalancing. But before you head for the beach, it could pay to reset your strategy for the second half of the year. If you haven’t yet, you’ll soon receive second-quarter statements from mutual fund companies, brokerages and banks where you have accounts. That makes it easy to see whether your mix of stocks, bonds and cash suits your long-term plan. Read more»

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors maneuvered into the safety of government debt Tuesday as they worried about the health of the economy.The stock market retreated and Treasurys mostly rose as investors questioned how long it will take for the economy to produce definitive signals that it is recovering from the recession that began in December 2007. Read more»

Target-date funds got a tongue lashing at a recent hearing in Washington, as regulators questioned why funds that were to become safer as retirement dates approached still managed to suffer huge losses.In fact, many of these funds did exactly what they were supposed to do, though not what poorly informed investors had expected. Read more»

If you’re looking for a stable investment that earns a tax-free return, consider investing in tax-exempt bonds. Read more»