Weekly Report: October 9, 2022
Observations
- Interest rates are up, so bank savings account interest rates are up as well. Given how long ZIRP has been in place, this feels unusual, but back in my uni days, I had my savings in an ING Direct online savings account that was paying 7% interest. That seemed normal at the time. I didn’t understand how interest rates worked, so I thought it was just the “normal” rate of interest for an online bank.
- I don’t know why it took me so long, but I discovered this week that you can buy treasury bills, notes, and bonds directly from the U.S. Treasury as a consumer. These are all debt instruments of varying maturity periods backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. government. Here’s the significance: First, these instruments currently offer better rates than any bank account or certificate of deposit (CD). At Ally Bank, a 12 month CD currently pays 3.1% APR. A 52-week T-Bill currently pays at 4.134%. Second, interest from these instruments is exempt from state and local taxes. Third, they’re very easy to buy – you open a Treasury Direct account, link your bank account, and Treasury will automatically debit your account upon purchase, and credit your account upon maturity. The main downside is that it’s not easy to get rid of treasury instruments if you don’t want to hold them to maturity. You can sell them after a 45-day minimum holding period, but you need to transfer them to another institution first. Here’s more information.
- If you’ve bought Series I Bonds (now in vogue given the current 9.62% rates), you will already have a Treasury Direct account. We hold some of our emergency cash in I Bonds.
- My youngest learned how to say his own name this week!
Articles
- Larry Summers: ‘The destabilisation wrought by British errors will not be confined to Britain’ (FT) ($)
- Australia’s house prices fall, interest rates soar but analysts say there’s no crash yet (CNBC)
- Binance-linked blockchain hit by $570 million crypto hack (Reuters)
- Judge Grants Elon Musk’s Request to Delay Trial With Twitter (New York Times)
- Lunch with the FT: Elon Musk (FT) ($)
- The Apple, Google, and Amazon-backed smart home standard Matter has arrived (The Verge)
- Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy refuted the notion that the company has six months to live (The Verge)
- Inside the chess cheating scandal and the fight for the soul of the game (ESPN)
- Killed by Google
- She’s a Doctor. He Was a Limo Driver. They Pitched a $30 Million Arms Deal. (New York Times)
- Here at the End of All Things (Longreads)
In high school, I used to draw maps of fantasy worlds (and solar systems!) with a friend. - Elon Musk’s Text Messages (Delaware Court of Chancery)
Starts on page 83 (Exhibit H). A fun read.
Charts, Images & Videos
On Twitter
Warning: Lots of loud swearing👇
9:00pm 
