Category Archives: Interest

What you should know about negative real interest rates

How negative real rates distort everything Normally a mortgage is a liability. And bonds are a low risk, low return asset. However when real interest rates are negative you can throw these conventional concepts out the window. The graph below shows the difference between a government bond yield and inflation (CPI.) The economy experiences negative real rates when… Read More »

Why Low Interest Rates Are Here to Stay

The new normal The year is 2030. Self driving cars are delivering fast food right to people’s front doors. China surpasses the U.S. as the world’s largest economy. Everyone uses mobile wallets instead of credit cards. Increasing wealth inequality has created constant social unrest. But one thing hasn’t changed. Interest rates continue to remain at rock bottom. You… Read More »

Mortgage Investment Performance

Mortgage Investment Corporations Returns in 2015 The Toronto Stock Exchange lost about 9% last year. But one group of investments that performed well in 2015 were mortgage investment corporations (MIC.) In the beginning of 2015 I held three different MICs. Since I didn’t add any new positions throughout the year it’s easy to calculate my total annual returns from them. Let’s take a… Read More »