Earn What You Spend

There were a number of things to note in today’s news.

Sony is laying off over 8,000 workers, right at 5% of their global workforce. 

Novellus will cut over 10% of their global workforce.  

On a brighter note, here is a collection of great posts on how to manage your money, especially going in this holiday season.  

But by far the most interesting news of the day (excluding the Governor of Illinois…) concerns Treasury bills:

The U.S. Treasury Department said it sold four-week bills at a high rate of 0.000 percent, a level never before seen, in a $30 billion auction.

When Treasury bill rates turn negative it shows that investors are so concerned about the safety of other assets that they are willing to effectively pay the U.S. government a fee to look after their money.

This is unprecedented - investors are so nervous, so craving for any kind of safety, they are willing to pay the United States government to take their money. From Bloomberg: “If you invested $1 million in three-month bills at today’s negative discount rate of 0.01 percent, for a price of 100.002556, at maturity you would receive the par value for a loss of $25.56.”  

While some wonder if we’re already on the way up from the bottom of this market, I think this is all the evidence you need that we have a long way to go.