Are short-term bond funds dried up too?

[Jack Sprat]

I took some bank savings and purchased short-term bond funds thinking they might yield a fairly safe and better return than CDs and regular saving deposits. Although interest rates remain stable and unchanged, both short-term treasury and short-term corporate bond funds have lost share price in the last month.

These funds have a variety of bonds of maturity ranging from 1 to 3 years. Does anyone know why bond fund prices would dip without the Fed actually raising interest rates? I don't know what seniors can do now to keep up with real inflation.

[kickysnana]

1. Xpost with info.

This was posted late today with no followup discussion and it is not my area but I thought it might be information you were looking for.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11168317#post95

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage_rates/blog/250974.aspx

As far as bad days go for bond markets and MBS, today was about as bad as it gets. 10yr yields hit their 3pm close about 16 bps higher than yesterday. Fannie 3.5's are down 26/32nds, something they've not done since 9/23/11.

Although the periodic MBS MID-DAY and RECAP posts that go out to the MBS Commentary channel do a good job of conveying market movements and community activity, I personally, am not able to conjure up much by way of charts or analysis on days like today. Reason being: I'm first and foremost engaged in interacting with the MBS Live community in the live chat window as well as manning the reprice alarms for the live updates that MBS Live sends out via text message and email to our users.

Bottom line, I just wanted to offer a quick apology that I haven't been able to publish any content earlier than now, but also wanted to take the opportunity to let anyone who didn't already know, that there's live analysis, live prices, live interaction with me and 100's of other mortgage professionals every day on the MBS Live Dashboard. Volatile markets like this make for good opportunities to do a 2-week trial if you haven't already.

...
Bond markets had been so tediously flat and uninspired for so long that by the time the notion that this could be THE big break out caught hold, the snowball of selling had already begun and didn't let up until until some major technical support levels were tested. MBS Live contributor and a good friend Victor Burek asked in the Live Chat this morning where the next support levels were for 10's after we began the morning in the high 2.1's.

[Jack Sprat]

2. Thanks for this info/links

It doesn't take the sting out of the losses but alerts me that further volatility in ahead. I'm thinking I may return to money market with zero gain. It beats losing money.

[OllieLotte]

3. I feel sorry for retirees with limited funds counting on bonds and CDs to supplement their income.

The "safer" play may be to own a few solid dividend stocks to go along with the bonds and CD.