The incredible LIBOR rate-rigging scandal is huge, and it's only going to grow in scope: Many of the world's largest banks have already been implicated in manipulating interest rates that are tied to some $800 trillion in loans and securities.
The European Securities and Markets Authority has begun reviewing how Standard & Poor's, Fitch, and Moody's Investors Service evaluate banks, and if the big three ratings agencies aren't shaking in their boots, maybe they should be.
That giant sucking sound you hear is money -- lots of it -- fleeing global stock markets for the safe havens of the U.S., German, and U.K. sovereign bond markets. It's fear talking -- fear of intensifying crisis in the eurozone.
Sunday's elections in France and Greece were a firm vote against austerity, and regardless of the merits of either side of the debate, that means the future of the eurozone is again in doubt. Here's why the bond markets care so much -- and why you should, too.
Ask the people who invest billions for a living to name their favorite picks for 2012 and you'll get a smorgasbord worthy of a holiday party: Brazilian stocks, U.S. junk bonds, and government debt from Colombia. Ask them what they dislike and they'll name one of the top-performing investments this year: U.S. government bonds.
Investors and officials in Jefferson County, Ala., are trying to negotiate a deal to avoid bankruptcy by Thursday's deadline. If they're unsuccessful, the county could end up with the largest Chapter 9 filing in U.S. history, which could rattle the $2.9 trillion municipal bond market.