Interest rates Archives - Retirement Income Journal

Rising interest rates will have diverse effects: Cerulli

By Editorial Staff Thu, Feb 10, 2022

The impact of higher inflation, and higher discount rates, will be less severe on insurance company general accounts than on endowments and foundations, which benefit from low rates, the...

Published February 10, 2022

Is the Fed Put Gone Forever?

By Editorial Staff Thu, Dec 9, 2021

'The Fed has turned hawkish belatedly due to a policy error on inflation. But it will have to back off as asset prices decline, yield curve approaches inversion—a telltale...

Published December 9, 2021

Does the Pandemic Limit Biden’s Fiscal Options?

By Eugene Steuerle and Erald Kolasi Thu, Jan 28, 2021

Our guest columnists, from the Urban Institute, examine the impact of the pandemic on the Congressional Budget Office's projections for the state of US government finances in 2030. ...

Published January 28, 2021

Watching the Fed Watch Covid-19

By Tim Duy Thu, Nov 19, 2020

The Fed's tea leaves are perplexing our guest columnist, an economist at the University of Oregon. Whether we see 'quantitative easing' may depend on how bad the pandemic resurges...

Published November 19, 2020

Federal Reserve issues FMOC statement

By Editorial Staff Fri, Nov 6, 2020

The Federal Open Market Committee 'decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25% and expects it will be appropriate to maintain this...

Published November 6, 2020

Searching for Yield? Here’s Where to Look

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Sep 24, 2020

Bond gurus Anne Mathias of Vanguard and Rick Rieder of BlackRock spoke at the Morningstar Investment Conference last week. Emerging markets, real estate debt, and asset-backed securities are...

Published September 24, 2020

‘Cacophony’ from the Fed: Duy

By Tim Duy

'The Fed-speak has been a tad cacophonous this week. Let’s try to cut through the noise,' writes economist Tim Duy of the U. of Oregon. But what is the...

Published September 24, 2020

Private-equity firms will keep buying life insurers: Cerulli

By Editorial Staff Thu, Sep 17, 2020

'A takeover of general account assets by a PE firm gives the insurer, in effect, an affiliated PE manager and the fee advantages typically seen in co-investing scenarios,' a...

Published September 17, 2020

Fed Keeps Credit Throttle Wide Open

By Tim Duy

'The commitment to holding rates at near zero until the economy is both at maximum employment AND inflation is at 2% is the unexpected enhanced forward guidance,' writes...

Published September 17, 2020

Imagining the Post-Pandemic Economy

By George A. (Sandy) Mackenzie Wed, Aug 26, 2020

The federal government’s deficit will eventually need to be brought down, but it will nonetheless be appropriate for the government to spend more than it would have spent in...

Published August 27, 2020

Fed Puts Yield Curve Control on the Shelf

By Tim Duy Thu, Aug 20, 2020

'The Fed remains focused on downside risks but as of yet is unwilling to act further to support the recovery. Maybe they won’t need to,' writes our guest columnist,...

Published August 20, 2020

A Different Way to Think about the Inflation Rate

By Tim Duy Thu, Aug 13, 2020

'The Fed has said absolutely, for sure, don’t even ask, that they aren’t thinking about thinking about thinking about raising interest rates anytime soon,' writes this Fed-watcher at the...

Published August 13, 2020

Low rates are ‘key obstacle’ for U.S. life/annuity firms: AM Best

By Editorial Staff Thu, Aug 6, 2020

Life insurers have exited, re-priced or de-emphasized their most interest rate-sensitive business lines, including individual and group annuities, the ratings firm said in a new report.

Published August 6, 2020

Fed Frets Over Fiscal Cliff

By Tim Duy Thu, Jul 30, 2020

'The Fed intends to maintain accommodative financial conditions for years,' writes our guest columnist, an economist at the University of Oregon.

Published July 30, 2020

Odds Favor Yield Curve Control

By Tim Duy Thu, Jul 9, 2020

'A turn toward yield curve control doesn’t necessarily preclude the Fed from doing more quantitative easing. I expect they would use the tools in tandem,' writes our guest columnist,...

Published July 9, 2020

We Could Use Some Inflation

By Kerry Pechter Thu, May 7, 2020

The Treasury said this week that it will borrow (and spend) about $3 trillion this quarter, to cover its stimulus promises. Where does that money come from and where...

Published May 7, 2020

Fed chairman promises to do ‘whatever it takes’

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Apr 30, 2020

'A wave of unnecessary insolvencies could do long-term damage to the productive capacity of the economy. That’s a risk,' Fed chairman Jerome Powell (in photo) said Wednesday.

Published April 30, 2020

The ‘Fed Put’ Hurts Annuities—and Retirees

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Apr 2, 2020

Low rates encourage excessive risk-taking. But the Fed keeps accommodating market sell-offs, which sets up a new round of boom and bust. Retirees (and the annuity issuers who serve...

Published April 2, 2020

At These Rates, Why Bother to Save?

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Mar 5, 2020

Negative real interest rates have become a disincentive to personal savings, especially among lower-income Americans who will rely heavily on Social Security and Medicaid anyway, this team of economists...

Published March 5, 2020

RIJ Interview: Will Fuller of Lincoln Financial

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Jan 23, 2020

In the third in our series of interviews with annuity industry leaders, we talk with Lincoln Financial Group executive VP Will Fuller. He was recently honored as an 'Industry...

Published January 23, 2020

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