Federal Reserve System

This article introduces you to the basics of hedging fixed income derivatives trades.  It is meant to be a practical guide to understanding basic hedging.  Three common trade examples are presented with examples of different potential hedges.  Volatility smiles are touched on, as are the Greeks (delta, gamma, theta, vega, rho) and other risk measures (PV01/DV01, duration, convexity).   The language is written in layman’s terms as much as possible to facilitate understanding of hedging concepts without getting too deeply into complex mathematics.

The A-share market is collapsing again, like many times before. It takes numerous government policies and "expert" opinions to entice ignorant retail investors into the market but just a few days to send them packing. As greed has the upper hand in Chinese society, the same story repeats itself time and again.

Scott Langmack has given more than US$600,000 in unsecured loans to strangers.

"I can reliably get 12 per cent, worst case 9 per cent," said Mr Langmack, 50, a former Microsoft marketing executive who began investing in so-called peer-to-peer lending last year. "I can't find anything that gives me this kind of confidence."

There are two ways to view Australia’s quarterly rise in gross domestic product, revealed to a largely incredulous world on Wednesday. The glass-half-empty reading is that Australia, far from being different from the rest of the globe, is merely lagging it.

by Damian Paletta and David Enrich

Barney Frank Goes to Bat for Lender, and It Gets an Infusion

Troubled OneUnited Bank in Boston didn't look much like a candidate for aid from the Treasury Department's bank bailout fund last fall.

The Treasury had said it would give money only to healthy banks, to jump-start lending. But OneUnited had seen most of its capital evaporate. Moreover, it was under attack from its regulators for allegations of poor lending practices and executive-pay abuses, including owning a Porsche for its executives' use.