Information about China's dealings with their foreign exchange reserves is often hard to come by. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) manages the exchange account.

SAFE has a website that has answered in broad terms China's position on U.S. treasuries and gold. First off, China has $2.45 trillion in reserves. Their goal is to increase the value of their holdings while at the same time maintain stability of their portfolio.

Continue reading China Will Not Dump U.S. Treasuries or Add Large Quantities of Gold

China Will Not Dump U.S. Treasuries or Add Large Quantities of Gold originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Ready to Leverage Up on U.S. Treasuries?

Ready to Leverage Up on U.S. Treasuries? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Flattening Yield Curve a Problem

Flattening Yield Curve a Problem originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Falling Bond Yields Highlight Investor Fears

Falling Bond Yields Highlight Investor Fears originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan

Continue reading Nassim Taleb, Author of Black Swan, Predicts Trouble Ahead for World Economies

Nassim Taleb, Author of Black Swan, Predicts Trouble Ahead for World Economies originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The scramble is on. Investors are racing to move money from riskier, higher-yielding trades to more conservative investments. And just like we saw during the financial crisis of 2008, U.S. Treasuries seem to be the conservative investment of choice.

This flight to safety and increased demand for U.S. Treasuries is pushing prices higher, but you need to make sure you are investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that provide exposure to Treasuries with longer-term maturities if you want to take advantage of the boom.

Continue reading TLT: Profit from the Flight to Safety with Treasury Bond Fund

TLT: Profit from the Flight to Safety with Treasury Bond Fund originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 May 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

They call themselves bond vigilantes. They are investors who are demanding higher yields at U.S. Treasury auctions.

Treasury auctions were going along quite smoothly until last week. Inflation is low, the housing market is in a slump and unemployment is at near record levels. All of this mixture is the stuff that low interest rates are made of.

Last week, the Greek debt crisis brought the problem of too much debt front and center. Now, investors are looking at the U.S. and see a mountain of fiscal debt that needs financing. The huge U.S. debt, $1.7 trillion, is making investors reappraise the yields on U.S. treasuries.

Continue reading Investors Demand Higher Yields on U.S. Treasuries

Investors Demand Higher Yields on U.S. Treasuries originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading High yield bond funds take a break

High yield bond funds take a break originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Portfolio Alert: Watch out for a Fed ease-up on Treasury buying

Portfolio Alert: Watch out for a Fed ease-up on Treasury buying originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

My final all-American brand is Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL). The company is well-known for its toothpaste and toothbrushes. But Colgate-Palmolive also owns dozens of strong brand names, including Irish Spring, Speed Stick, Ajax, and many others.

Some investors may think of Colgate-Palmolive as a dull stock. That's fine by me.

The shares are far less volatile than most stocks on Wall Street. Even though the market overall is well below the highs it reached in the third quarter of 2007, shares of Colgate-Palmolive were never punished nearly as hard.

Continue reading All-American stock #3: Colgate-Palmolive (CL)

All-American stock #3: Colgate-Palmolive (CL) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Since President Nixon opened the doors to China back in the 1970s, the relationship has certainly been interesting - and complicated. Of course, now China is a critical piece of the global economy and a huge funder of U.S. debt, which is even more important in light of our massive deficit spending.

So, will China continue buying up our Treasuries? Perhaps so. This is according to a piece in the FT. The director general of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, Luo Ping, said there is really no other place to put lots of cash (at least in a safe way). In fact, he wasn't too thrilled with the U.S.'s financial moves over the years. And, he even thinks the U.S. dollar will continue to sink (yes, not really a ringing endorsement from our financial sugar daddy).

Continue reading Chinese regulator hates the US ... but still likes our bonds

Chinese regulator hates the US ... but still likes our bonds originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Like other US Treasuries, Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPs) have virtually no credit risk," explains fund expert Mark Salzinger.

The editor of The No-Load Fund Investor adds, "Unlike other US Treasuries beyond short-term bills, however, TIPs also have no inflation risk." Here, he looks at an EYF based on TIPs.

"Twice a year, TIPs' principal valuis are adjusted upward by the amount of the increase in the Consumer Price Index Urban (CPI-U), thus protecting their holders against increases in inflation.

"The total return of the bond equals its yield plus the change in principal value based on inflation, changes in real interest rates (published interest rates minus inflation) and supply-demand in the market for TIPs.

"TIPs' yields are lower than those of regular Treasury sercurities of similar maturities. That's one of the disadvantages of TIPs.

"The other is that any increase in principal value due to the biannual inflation adjustment gets taxed every year as if it were received income.

Continue reading Fund expert offers tip on TIPs

Fund expert offers tip on TIPs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Fewer U.S. Treasury dealers means likely higher U.S. Government borrowing costs

Fewer U.S. Treasury dealers means likely higher U.S. Government borrowing costs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Derivatives - the 'global Vesuvius of debts and bets' that we have been warning about since 2006 is beginning to erupt," says Martin Weiss.

The editor of The Safe Money Report explains, "The time is now to build cash and the best place to put it is in United States Treasury bills or equivalent." Here, he looks at the benefits of Treasuries and the various ways that investors can add them to their portfolios.

"We now have overwhelming evidence of a severe recession. And we have a solid confirmation in the stock market itself. But we also forecast that the Fed would fight back, and do so aggressively, fomenting an
inflationary recession.

"They're pumping in massive amounts of money, trying to calm markets and seeking to avert a recession. But it's too little, too late for the economy. And it's too much, too soon for the already-shaky dollar. *Result: Gold has surged along with other commodities.

"And consumer price inflation, long a side-show on the American scene, is now surging back. Our urgent appeal: If youhaven't done so already based on our earlier issues, the time is now to shift from complacency to protective action ... from bull-market plays to income opportunities ... from risk to safety.

Continue reading Safe Money seeks safety in Treasuries

Safe Money seeks safety in Treasuries originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bond spreads are tightest in nine years originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This past Tuesday I wrote an article on dividend-paying stocks offer investors more protection in tough times. It has only been three trading days since the Tuesday hit and looking back now, the stocks discussed with high, sustainable dividends are holding up just fine.

Whether it's AT&T, Inc. (NYSE:T), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), CitiGroup, Inc. (NYSE:C) or Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), the stock movements have been negligible. These stocks have been attracting investors seeking safety of principal and a high yield. But remember, most excellent dividend paying companies have a history of raising those dividend payments, and with that fact comes a higher stock price as well.

If the Federal Reserve begins to lower interest rates in the spring and summer, and I believe they will, the yields on these stocks becomes even more valuable. As riskless treasuries are in the 4%+ neighborhood now, if the Fed lowers rates and those yields fall into the 3% neighborhood, the stocks of underlying high-dividend payers will go up.Current yields tend to go together especially if underlying quality is present. For example, for Bank of America to yield 3%, the stock would have to go up to the mid $60's. If you own the stock here at $50-51, you have locked in a 4.40% yield, and if we see declining interest rates, for the stock to remain competitive with US Treasuries, the share price would soar. Not to mention, BAC will probably raise their dividend in 2007, 2008, and beyond.

This is where high dividend paying stocks can be powerful investments...

Georges Yared is the author of recently released books Stop Losing Money Today and Baby Boomer Investing...Where do we go from here?

More on dividends providing protection originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Mar 2007 17:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The most valuable thing on earth after life itself is TRUST.

Why is President Bush watching his approval rating collapse month after month -- Do you trust him? What has he done to build trust? Why are we so comfortable living with England having nuclear weapons and are panic-stricken by Iran's having them -- do you trust them? What have they done to build trust?

What was the cause of Adam & Eve's being banished from the garden of Eden? A breach of trust. Right from the start, up until this very moment it is trust that creates brotherhood between peoples and also builds strong brands. Trust that allows a temporary leap of faith until the facts are known and it is trust that positions the market place for "just-in-time" manufacturing and without which the process would come to a swift and grinding halt.

Johnson & Johnson did all the right things way back when they had the now-historic Tylenol tampering scare to contend with and they wisely focused their attention on maintaining trust at all costs. Enron did all the wrong things. Arthur Anderson drowned in a sea of mistrust flowing from their own questionable ethics and we witnessed a very valuable enterprise rapidly collapse. In my architecture practice I have lectured on this subject constantly to everyone who would listen; staff, clients, consultants, public officials etc. Anything that builds trust is a good thing, anything that reduces trust is a bad thing!

Continue reading More valuable than gold, oil, land, stocks, & Treasury notes

More valuable than gold, oil, land, stocks, & Treasury notes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 11 Jun 2006 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.