Search found 755 matches

by jhogue
Sun Nov 27, 2022 8:31 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Tempting Cash Rebate offers
Replies: 36
Views: 4546

Re: Tempting Cash Rebate offers

It is a simple fact; yet STILL too often ignored by investors: No debt instrument is safer or more liquid than a Treasury-backed security. To get a higher yield you have to accept more risk. And anybody who is eager to leave their cash with Citibank would do well to first read up on its history in t...
by jhogue
Thu Nov 24, 2022 11:23 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Tempting Cash Rebate offers
Replies: 36
Views: 4546

Re: Tempting Cash Rebate offers

I think you misunderstand. The problem isn't that the FDIC will fail. It won't. But if your bank fails, it could cause you no end of headaches before FDIC makes you whole again. Well since I use a lot of FDIC insured bank accounts, please educate me with some examples in recent memory where deposit...
by jhogue
Thu Nov 24, 2022 8:29 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Tempting Cash Rebate offers
Replies: 36
Views: 4546

Re: Tempting Cash Rebate offers

I'd take that in a heartbeat. Its an FDIC insured savings account. As long as you keep it at $250K or less to stay in the insurance band, its just as good as a Treasury bill in my workd. If we truly have an issue where FDIC fails and the government doesn't back it, thats gonna be a scenario where c...
by jhogue
Sat Nov 19, 2022 11:42 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Treasury Notes (Auction vs Secondary - basically a wash?)
Replies: 14
Views: 4052

Re: Treasury Notes (Auction vs Secondary - basically a wash?)

Yep, no question that the era of ZIRP is over.
by jhogue
Fri Nov 18, 2022 10:19 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Treasury Notes (Auction vs Secondary - basically a wash?)
Replies: 14
Views: 4052

Re: Treasury Notes (Auction vs Secondary - basically a wash?)

Just for the sake of discussion… I have a T-Bill ladder in my taxable account at Fidelity composed of 3, 6, and 9 month T-Bills, purchased on the secondary market, that I will to hold to maturity. It currently yields about 4.5%-- which is far better than an HBPP-designated Treasury money market fund...
by jhogue
Wed Nov 16, 2022 9:11 am
Forum: Politics
Topic: Putin Invades Ukraine II
Replies: 1161
Views: 831510

Re: Putin Invades Ukraine II

I think there is some merit in Kriegsspiel’s contrarian views of the Russia/Ukranian War. However, the decisions by the neutral (and mostly non-corrupt) governments of Sweden and Finland to seek NATO membership immediately after the Russian invasion sounded serious alarm bells on the eastern frontie...
by jhogue
Mon Nov 07, 2022 8:17 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: 2022 Nov iBonds: 0.4% fixed
Replies: 4
Views: 1603

Re: 2022 Nov iBonds: 0.4% fixed

David Enna gives an extended consideration of how to time a sale of I-bonds to yield the optimal interest rate for the short-term investor. See his column at: https://tipswatch.com Note that,( like me), his preferred strategy is to always buy the max every year and never sell before 30 year maturity...
by jhogue
Fri Nov 04, 2022 10:09 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: 2022 Nov iBonds: 0.4% fixed
Replies: 4
Views: 1603

Re: 2022 Nov iBonds: 0.4% fixed

With the expected passage of 1 Nov. re-set rate for I-bonds, the dust is beginning to settle: 1. For short-term I-bond investors, the variable interest component rate fell from 9.62% to 6.48%. for an annualized rate of 8.2%, if you bought before 1 Nov. This looks like a severe fall off until you con...
by jhogue
Sun Oct 23, 2022 2:15 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Cash as an inflation hedge
Replies: 8
Views: 2865

Re: Cash as an inflation hedge

Bankers at the Federal Reserve do not know what the interest rate will be next year. How can the average investor?
by jhogue
Tue Oct 18, 2022 8:59 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: I-bonds from tax refund
Replies: 37
Views: 9427

Re: I-bonds from tax refund

Thanks, Barrett. You didn't directly answer my question, but you DID address the pressure I was feeling to get it done prior to October 31. I appreciate the reassurance that all may not be lost. Maddy, 1. Every recent (past 10 years) TreasuryDirect account that I know begins with a letter, not a nu...
by jhogue
Sun Oct 16, 2022 9:28 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: I-bonds from tax refund
Replies: 37
Views: 9427

Re: I-bonds from tax refund

I bought my full aliquot of online I Bonds in January, and also got paper bonds with my tax refund in March. I filed in February as per usual, to reduce the chance that an identity thief will beat me to it - under the theory that he who files first, files best. I wonder if the problem is the timing...
by jhogue
Sun Oct 16, 2022 8:55 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset
Replies: 20
Views: 7374

Re: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset

With the CPI data out this morning, TipsWatch has the new variable rate for 11/1/22 to 4/30/23 at 6.48%. Link is here: https://tipswatch.com/category/i-bond/ Thinking I may add to our gift box positions before 10/31 to get the current 9.62% for six months. And then, obviously, 6.48% for another six...
by jhogue
Mon Oct 03, 2022 10:15 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"
Replies: 93
Views: 11914

Re: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"

Sorry to hear about your mother's condition, sophie.

Adding to my Cash pile rather than the other 3 volatile assets during times like the present dampens volatility and "feels" like an extra bit of cushion against the unexpected or unanticipated.
by jhogue
Sat Oct 01, 2022 2:58 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: TIPS
Replies: 28
Views: 8153

Re: TIPS

Sometimes I feel prophetic... "At least theoretically, a TIPS fund should be less volatile than a TIPS ETF because it will only be marked to market at the end of each day, while the professional inflation expectation traders on Wall Street will be jumping in and out of the ETF market throughout the...
by jhogue
Sat Oct 01, 2022 1:49 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"
Replies: 93
Views: 11914

Re: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"

Vinny,
You can also buy paper copies of the Wall Street Journal at your local news outlet. As far as I know, the People's Republic of Massachusetts has not cancelled it yet.
by jhogue
Sat Oct 01, 2022 10:09 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"
Replies: 93
Views: 11914

Re: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"

Right on time, Jason Zweig has a column in the weekend Wall Street Journal, "Three Ways You Can Cash in on Your Cash."

His column analyzes better returns from money market funds, I-bonds, and T-bills. I note that he does not mention CD's or TIPS.
by jhogue
Fri Sep 30, 2022 12:28 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"
Replies: 93
Views: 11914

Re: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"

Tyler (as usual) has a thoughtful essay on the pros and cons of TIPS in Portfolio Charts.

https://portfoliocharts.com/2022/09/27/ ... #takeaways
by jhogue
Wed Sep 28, 2022 5:05 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"
Replies: 93
Views: 11914

Re: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"

Corto,

I do not have a CMA with Fidelity. I have a Fidelity brokerage account linked to two bank accounts and my TreasuryDirect account.
by jhogue
Wed Sep 28, 2022 3:57 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"
Replies: 93
Views: 11914

Re: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"

whatchamacallit,

Call a Fidelity rep and ask. I am sure they will explain.

Possibly a hold on assets transfered into Fidelity from an outside bank?
by jhogue
Wed Sep 28, 2022 2:54 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"
Replies: 93
Views: 11914

Re: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"

Corto, I buy Treasury bills, but only after I have completely maxed out my annual purchases of I-bonds. I hold short duration T-bills to maturity so I know their precise yield when I buy them. As you have discovered, investors cannot buy tax deferred T-bills through TreasuryDirect. I do not buy TIPS...
by jhogue
Wed Sep 21, 2022 12:10 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"
Replies: 93
Views: 11914

Re: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"

Good post on Tipswatch about how to take advantage of the best short-term Treasury rates since 2007. Still losing ~5% to inflation but considering what's happening to every other asset class they may well be the least worse investment of 2022. https://tipswatch.com/2022/09/21/short-term-treasurys-e...
by jhogue
Wed Sep 21, 2022 8:45 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: IBonds!!! PAGING jhogue!
Replies: 3
Views: 904

Re: IBonds!!! PAGING jhogue!

Vinny, All paper I-bonds have a serial number with a unique 11-digit alpha numeric. Your tax refund generated paper I-bonds all start with the Roman numeral letter M, D, R, or L, which identifies them as $1,000, $500, $200, or $50 value bonds respectively. If your paper I-bonds are ever lost, stolen...
by jhogue
Sun Jul 31, 2022 8:49 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset
Replies: 20
Views: 7374

Re: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset

@GT:
See Jason Zweig's article on I-bonds in this weekend's Wall Street Journal, "An Investment That Still Hosts the Mark."

Zweig, who is a proponent of I bonds, says that Treasury Direct is now accepting certification by notary public.
by jhogue
Mon Jul 25, 2022 1:39 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset
Replies: 20
Views: 7374

Re: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset

@GT: I am sorry to hear of your difficulties with the Treasury Direct system. However, I would not rate your credit union very highly either, based upon their lack of customer service in this instance. If it were me, I would schedule an appointment with your branch manager, inform that person of you...
by jhogue
Sun Jul 24, 2022 11:37 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset
Replies: 20
Views: 7374

Re: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset

"As the cost of living soars, one lawmaker is urging the Treasury Department to remove the barriers to buying Series I bonds. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., on Thursday voiced concerns about "red tape and outdated systems" that may be preventing investors from buying the inflation-protected and nea...