Investing basics
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What is a carry trade?
A carry trade is effectively a return that an investor generates for holding, or carrying, an asset such as a currency or commodity for a period of time.
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What are global macro funds?
Global macro funds are alternative investment strategies that invest globally based on broad macro-driven themes such as monetary policy, interest rates, inflation, unemployment, and politics.
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What are private markets?
Private markets allow buyers and sellers to trade assets through direct negotiation rather than through an intermediary, such as a public securities exchange.
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How does inflation affect investments?
After decades of low and declining inflation, rising prices are once again having an effect on everything from household budgets to public policy. We look at the causes of inflation today and historically and how it affects investments.
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What is behavioral finance?
Behavioral finance is a field of study within economics that explores how human psychology can influence our spending, saving, and investing decisionsꟷoften for the worse, rather than for the better.
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What is a central bank and what is its role?
As the central bank of the United States, the U.S. Federal Reserve is one of the most influential financial institutions in the world.
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What’s the yield curve and what should bond investors make of the warning it just sent?
Typically, the yield curve doesn’t get much attention from investors beyond bond market specialists. That changed in early April when the curve inverted, suggesting economic trouble ahead.
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What investors need to know about today's market volatility and the VIX
If there’s one thing investors know for sure about financial markets, it’s that they can be volatile. The first step toward dealing with volatility is to understand what it is and how it can affect your portfolio.
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What is bond duration, and why does it matter?
Rising rates are taking a toll on bond prices this year. Understanding bond duration is one way to find out how your portfolio may fare.
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What are CBDCs—central bank digital currencies?
Many of the world's central banks are developing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Here's what you need to know about these new types of regulated, government-issued electronic money.
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