InvestIdeas

There were 9 million job openings in December, up from 8.9 million in November. Prior to the pandemic, there had never been 8 million jobs available in a month.

In January, employers added 353,000 jobs. That’s a big number, and it’s an increase from December’s 333,000. Wages are also up 4.5% over last year.

And corporate earnings are expected to have grown 4.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023, while fourth quarter GDP was a robust 3.3%.

Should China’s woes make their way over to the U.S., the economy could hit the brakes and rates could in fact be lowered.

Investment-grade corporate bonds are yielding 6%. Non-investment-grade bonds rated BB or better are yielding more than 7%.

TLT holds long-term Treasury bonds, and these bonds are particularly sensitive to interest rates. When interest rates fall, the price of long-term bonds tends to rise more than bonds with shorter maturities.

Risks of Holding TLT in 2024:-
1. Interest rate risk
2. Lower current yields