Bond market defies expectations in 2004
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The bond market wasn&#39;t supposed to finish out the year this way. With the dollar slumping, the US economy improving and the Federal Reserve taking action to keep growth in check, the good times were supposed to fizzle.
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US consumer borrowing increased less than expected in December after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates five times in the last half of 2004.
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Stubbornly high bond yields discouraged investors from extending Wall Streetâs recovery from last weekâs losses.
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U.S. Treasuries edged higher in  somnolent, early dealings on Friday, supported by signs that  December job growth was less robust than some had thought.
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Prices for oil and natural gas hit records in 2004, and energy mutual funds did almost as well. They were No. 2 for the industry, behind Latin American funds.
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The market has been shaken by uncertainty surrounding bond insurers and whether they will be able to handle large losses in the value of mortgage-backed bonds.
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U.S. Treasury yields closed out the  year on Friday barely an inch away from their starting levels  for the year, defying the Federal Reserve's efforts to tighten  monetary policy.
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After four years of strong growth, investors appear to have become too complacent about risks.
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WASHINGTON -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in yesterday's auction to the highest levels in more than three years.
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The French economy surged ahead in the  fourth quarter of 2004 but missed the government's growth  target, and high oil prices and consumer demand for imports  pushed trade into the red for the first time in four years.
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Strong global stocks and bonds markets have fueled rapid growth in the $11.1 trillion U.S. mutual fund industry, despite the wobble in emerging markets and concerns about overheated Chinese markets in the past year.
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For some, municipal bonds can far outpace Treasuries.
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Bond investors are less inclined to buy the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note after the security had its biggest weekly rally since September and before the Federal Reserve&#39;s expected interest-rate increase this week.
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It wasn't a bad year for conventional mutual funds, but exchange traded funds experienced dramatic growth in 2004, raking in an unprecedented amount of new cash.
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Britain's economy expanded at a faster than expected rate towards the end of 2004, official figures showed, but growth for the year as a whole just missed government targets at 3.1 percent.
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update Earnings per share rise compared with a year ago, but company misses analysts' expectations by a long shot.
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The price of the Treasury&#39;s 10-year note was up 9/32 point, or $2.81 per $1,000 in face value, around midday Tuesday, while its yield fell to 4.23 percent from 4.27 percent late Monday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.