Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark have nudged some official lending rates negative without such repercussions
Source: Bloomberg
http://thecrux.com/the-fed-wants-to-tes ... ive-rates/
Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark have nudged some official lending rates negative without such repercussions
Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland all have negative interest rates, but consumer spending isn’t going up there.
In fact, savings rates have been going up in lockstep with the decrease in interest rates, exactly the opposite of what the geniuses at the various central banks expected.
It isn’t in an individual’s self-interest to go out and spend their money on more “stuff” in order to spur economic growth.
When you think about it, the immediate results of negative interest rates are pretty obvious…
1. “Savers” get clobbered. Retirees lose money on their savings. It’s terrible.
2. People borrow money. Hey, it’s “free.” Why not get some?
3. Asset prices go up. What do people do with the free money? They buy stuff.
When the yield curve “inverts,” it means that the yield on long-term bonds is less than the yield for short-term bonds. In other words, investors see more risk in short-term bonds than in long-term bonds. This might not sound logical.
But there’s a good reason for this. If investors are worried the economy is headed for a recession, they will look for ways to keep their money safe. If they think stock prices will fall, and that interest rates will fall, they will put their money in long-term government bonds to ride out the storm.
So, with questions about the global economy on everybody’s mind, keep an eye on the U.S. yield curve. If it continues to narrow, or somehow inverts, and it lives up to its reputation as the best predictor of tough economic times, a recession could follow. That would be bad for economies – and markets – throughout the world.
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