"If the fiscal and monetary authorities won't regulate the economy, the bond vigilantes will," says economist Ed Yardeni on Bloomberg. 'Bond market vigilantes' is a term he coined in 1984 that can describe any bond-market participant (rather than an elite group of traders or fund managers).
Any bondholder may worry about whether the Federal Reserve has set interest rates too low and allowed the US government to borrow too cheaply to fund spiralling government spending. This may lead to inflation, a particular fear as it erodes a bond's value. If enough bondholders react by selling bonds then yields will tend to rise as prices fall. This makes debt issuance more expensive for heavily indebted governments.
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When is the “Bed & ISA” deadline? Cut-off dates for major investment platformsThe “Bed & ISA” deadline varies from provider to provider. We share a round-up of the key dates across major investment platforms
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Spring Statement: what could Rachel Reeves say about pensions?The chancellor will deliver her Spring Statement on 26 March. We look at whether there will be any announcements on pensions that could affect savers or retirees
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Margin callGlossary When an investor borrows to bet on markets, they put down a deposit known as “margin”.
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Bernanke put
Glossary There is a widespread belief that the US central bank can always rescue the economy by decreasing interest rates. Since the current chairman is Ben Bernanke this is known as the 'Bernanke Put'
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Greenspan put
Glossary A 'put' is a type of option contract that increases in value as the price of the underlying asset falls.
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Plaza Accord
Glossary The Plaza Accord was an agreement signed between the US, Japan, West Germany, France and the UK at the Plaza Hotel in New York in 1985.