The charts that matter: global bond yields take a dive

As government bond yields around the world take a big tumble, we look at the charts that matter most to the global economy.

Welcome back.

In this week’s magazine, we look at the challenges facing the G7’s plan to impose a minimum rate of corporation tax rate around the world in an attempt to get a hold of some of the profits of the world’s biggest multinational companies. Is it a good idea? Will it come to anything – and can it be made to work? We also look at buying foreign shares. Most investors stick to their home markets, but it makes sense to look abroad, too. Cris Sholto Heaton gets stuck in to the whys and hows of investing abroad.

For this week’s podcast, we’ve got something of a treat for you. Merryn is joined by the FT’s Gillian Tett – but this week it’s available on video as well as audio. Gillian talks about how her training as an anthropologist has helped her make sense of the markets and the global economy, and why it’s so important for everyone – corporations, governments and individuals – to not just look at cold hard economic facts, but to take human nature into account, too. Watch the video here.

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This week’s “Too Embarrassed To Ask” looks at passive investing – sometimes known as index investing – buying funds that just track an index, rather than ones that are made up of stocks picked out by an active manager. Find out more here.

Here are the links for this week’s editions of Money Morning and other web stories you may have missed.

Now for the charts of the week.

The charts that matter

Gold has steadied after falling from its recent high.

Gold price chart

(Image credit: Gold price chart)

(Gold: three months)

The US dollar index (DXY – a measure of the strength of the dollar against a basket of the currencies of its major trading partners) is also treading water.

US dollar index chart

(Image credit: US dollar index chart)

(DXY: three months)

While the Chinese yuan (or renminbi) just keeps getting stronger (when the red line is rising, the dollar is strengthening while the yuan is weakening).

USD/CNY currency chart

(Image credit: USD/CNY currency chart)

(Chinese yuan to the US dollar: since 25 Jun 2019)

The yield on the ten-year US government bond has dropped back to a level not seen since early March.

US 10-year Treasury bond yield chart

(Image credit: US 10-year Treasury bond yield chart)

(Ten-year US Treasury yield: three months)

The yield on the Japanese ten-year bond has also taken a dive.

Japanese government bond yield chart

(Image credit: Japanese government bond yield chart)

(Ten-year Japanese government bond yield: three months)

And the yield on the ten-year German Bund, followed suit.

German Bund yield chart

(Image credit: German Bund yield chart)

(Ten-year Bund yield: three months)

Copper is drifting from its recent high.

Copper price chart

(Image credit: Copper price chart)

(Copper: nine months)

The closely-related Aussie dollar continued to meander sideways.

AUD/USD currency chart

(Image credit: AUD/USD currency chart)

(Aussie dollar vs US dollar exchange rate: three months)

Bitcoin has so far failed to regain its recent losses.

Bitcoin price chart

(Image credit: Bitcoin price chart)

(Bitcoin: three months)

US weekly initial jobless claims took another fall, down 9,000 to 376,000, compared to 385,000 last week. The four-week moving average fell to 402,500, down 25,500 from 428,000 the week before.

US initial weekly jobless claims chart

(Image credit: US initial weekly jobless claims chart)

(US initial jobless claims, four-week moving average: since Jan 2020)

The oil price kept on climbing.

Brent crude oil price chart

(Image credit: Brent crude oil price chart)

(Brent crude oil: three months)

Amazon rose sharply.

Amazon share price chart

(Image credit: Amazon share price chart)

(Amazon: three months)

And Tesla made something of a recovery after the previous week’s losses.

Tesla share price chart

(Image credit: Tesla share price chart)

(Tesla: three months)

Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.