Inside the cloistered world of the diamond business
Exchange rate, season make Europe trips a better deal
Gold, silver bullion coins’ ‘fondle factor’
Most fund investors looked at U.S. Treasury debt and state-issued debt favorably in the history-making third quarter, even as the bond market’s already largely unchecked 2011 win streak gets more and more stretched, Rachel Koning Beals writes in the first in our three-part special report on third-quarter mutual fund and ETF performance. Look this weekend for reports on international and U.S. stock funds. See the special report, along with a recap of previous quarters’ reports, here.
Also on MarketWatch today, Kim Hjelmgaard offers an inside look at the cloistered world of the international diamond business and explains how the pricing of polished diamonds is a contested practice going through industry reexamination.
— Anne Stanley , Managing Editor, Personal Finance
U.S. government bond funds leap in third quarter
It’s been a history-making third quarter in financial markets, featuring events that renewed investor demand for the relative security of bond funds. The Fed dusted off a program to manipulate the yield curve that the U.S. central bank had last used some 50 years ago. And, the U.S.’s sterling credit rating got an unprecedented downgrade. These were two moves that in theory should have had a noticeable impact on the government-debt yield curve — but in reality caused barely a ripple.
Read more: U.S. government bond funds leap in third quarter.
Diamond prices latest frontier in industry battle
Diamonds, coveted by millions of people around the world, undertake a convoluted journey from the earth’s interior to a prized consumer object capable of holding deep emotional meaning.
Read more diamond prices latest frontier in industry battle.
Awaiting FHA changes on refinancing
The wheels of government grind slowly, Lew Sichelman writes, but those who refinance their FHA-insured loans could, someday, be in for a big payday.
Read more: Awaiting FHA changes on refinancing.
Currency rates, season make Europe a deal
If you called off your summer European trip this year because airfares skyrocketed and the euro/dollar exchange rate meant that meals had to be kept to a minimum, you might want to start packing now.
