Alphabet Soup
This 12-member Federal Reserve committee votes to set the target range for the federal funds rate.
What is the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee)?
When market yields on comparable bonds fall, the price of an existing fixed-rate bond does this.
What is go up (increase in value)?
California has this many counties.
What is 58?
Fact or Fiction: A bond held to maturity can still experience significant market value fluctuations before it matures.
What is Fact ?
This event in March 2020 prompted the Fed to cut rates to near zero and launch massive emergency lending programs.
What is the COVID-19 pandemic?
Assuming they have the same maturity, which generally yields more?
What is a Corporate Bond?
This State Treasurer-run pool lets California local agencies invest idle funds with same-day liquidity.
What is LAIF (Local Agency Investment Fund)?
If unemployment rises while inflation falls toward the Fed's 2% target, the Fed is generally more likely to do this to the federal funds rate.
What is lower (cut) it?
California produces over 90% of the U.S. supply of both prunes and this dried fruit, traditionally sun-dried on paper trays between vineyard rows near Fresno.
What are raisins?
Fact or Fiction: U.S. Treasury securities have no interest-rate risk.
What is Fiction ?
During March 2020, the 10-year Treasury yield briefly fell below this level (%) for the first time ever.
What is 0.50%?
You expect rates to rise faster than the market has priced in. This investment could be considered more attractive.
What is a Money Market Fund?
Every U.S. and Canadian security has one of these unique nine-character identifiers.
What is a CUSIP?
The Treasury yield curve is said to be inverted when these yields are higher than long-term yields.
What are short-term yields?
This Lake County body of water is the largest natural freshwater lake located entirely within California.
What is Clear Lake?
Fact or Fiction: If the Fed cuts the federal funds rate, all Treasury yields immediately fall by the same amount.
What is Fiction?
This bank's March 2023 collapse, driven by unrealized losses on long-duration securities and a deposit run, is now the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history.
What is Silicon Valley Bank?
Your agency won't need the money for five years, and you believe the Fed will cut more than the market expects. Which might make most sense for you choose?
What is the 0–5 year Treasury ladder?
The acronym ACFR stands for this.
What is Annual Comprehensive Financial Report?
U.S. CPI inflation peaked at about 9.1% year-over-year in this month and year, its highest in four decades.
What is June 2022?
Before Sacramento became the permanent capital in 1854, this city, now the Bay Area's largest, served as California's first state capital.
What is San Jose?
Fact or Fiction: Since the SEC's 2016 reforms, institutional prime money market funds must use a floating share price instead of a fixed $1.00.
What is Fact ?
From March 2022 to July 2023, the Fed raised the federal funds target from near zero to this range, its highest in about 22 years.
What is 5.25%–5.50%?
Which is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government:
What is the Ginnie Mae MBS?
Based on overnight Treasury repo transactions, this benchmark rate replaced LIBOR for most U.S. dollar contracts after June 2023.
What is SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate)?
A monetary policy action where a central bank purchases predetermined amounts of government bonds, company shares, or other financial assets in order to artificially reduce long-term interest rates.
What is quantitative easing (QE)?
These three San Joaquin Valley counties are consistently California's top agricultural producers by gross value.
What is Fresno, Kern, and Tulare County?
Fact or Fiction: The rising rates that cause unrealized losses on a bond portfolio can lead to higher income in the future.
What is Fact?
Even though the 2008 financial crisis started in the U.S., investors worldwide rushed into this asset, driving its yields sharply lower.
What are U.S. Treasuries?
Which generally has more liquidity?
What is a U.S. Treasury?