For general media inquiries (members of the media only) please call (816) 340-7033 or email us.
We're always looking for exceptional team members.
A superior benefits and rewards program is an essential part of our commitment to our employees.
By Charles Tan - October 2019
Even though interest rates in Europe and Japan have recently dipped into negative territory, the United States has never experienced negative rates.
Positive rates are a fundamental part of our financial system. Lenders get paid with interest payments for loaning money; borrowers are charged with interest until the debt is paid off. So, the current talk of negative rates feels like a monetary experiment—one that has several potential long-term consequences.
Negative rates upend the relationship between lenders and borrowers and could transfer wealth from savers to debtors. Furthermore, it could distort pricing in financial markets and erode our pension and banking systems.
So far, the Federal Reserve has resisted pressure to lower rates to zero or below. How will we get back to a normalized rate environment? Click on my video below for more insight.
I think negative rates are something that really is a monetary experiment.
It’s unconventional. If you think about our economy—our financial system—positive interest rates are really as fundamental as the sun rising from the East and setting in the West. Having negative rates—I think there are several potential, negative, long-term consequences.
One is, it will undermine our banking system because banking is all about borrowing at certain rates. The lenders get paid interest rates and the borrowers would pay interest rates. But what it does for the economy, really, over the long term is: it not only distorts price discovery in the financial markets. It is also an overt transfer of wealth from the savers to debtors. Over time, it will erode our pension system, our insurance companies, and hollow out our banking system.
The United States has never had negative interest rates in the past. As a matter of fact, negative rates are a pretty recent phenomenon. There’s a lot of pressure on the Fed (Federal Reserve) to lower rates all the way to zero—even negative—not only from the president but also from financial markets. But I think the Fed as an institution has done an amazing job of staying independent in conducting monetary policies. If you look at the September Fed meeting, they have made the decision to lower rates by 25 basis points (0.25%). They have been very independent as an institution, but also the individual voting members’ assessment of the economy.
To get back to a normalized interest rate environment, I think both the inflation and economic prospects have to improve substantially from where we are today. The Fed also mentioned the U.S.-China trade war, as well as global growth as the reasons why they’ve been cutting interest rates. So, for us to get back to a normalized rate environment, all of those conditions have to improve. I think that’s a pretty tall order for an economy that’s already experiencing the longest expansion on record.
Get additional insights in our latest Investment Outlook.
In this quarterly update, Portfolio Manager Margé Karner discusses the good and the bad of emerging markets debt heading into the new year.
January 25, 2019
The first wave of third quarter corporate earnings reports shared weak guidance on future earnings, which rattled investors—particularly those in the industrials sector.
October 24, 2018
Investors may take on unintended risks in their pursuit of return in a negative interest rate environment. PM Hitesh Patel explains the tradeoffs.
November 2019
Negative interest rates—what are they, who’s using them and how might they affect the U.S. economy? Charles Tan, fixed income Co-CIO, breaks it down.
October 2019
Negative-yielding debt has been steadily increasing throughout the world, and many investors worry the U.S. won’t remain immune from this bond market anomaly. Co-CIO Charles Tan shares why negative rates could present significant risks.
September 2019
An inverted yield curve may signal trouble in the water. Despite the bond market’s warning, we still believe the U.S. economy may remain resilient.
August 2019
Generally, as interest rates rise, bond prices fall. The opposite is true when interest rates decline.
Investment return and principal value of security investments will fluctuate. The value at the time of redemption may be more or less than the original cost. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
The opinions expressed are those of American Century Investments (or the portfolio manager) and are no guarantee of the future performance of any American Century Investments' portfolio. This material has been prepared for educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, investment, accounting, legal or tax advice.
American Century Investments is not responsible for and does not endorse any comments, content, advertising, products, advice, opinions, recommendations or other materials on or available directly or via hyperlinks from Facebook, Twitter or any third-party website. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are registered trademarks of their respective owners.