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Bonds are hated — here’s when they may become attractive again

A new study forces us to analyze our underlying assumptions about bonds.

Bonds have lost their shine. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

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How high must bond yields rise before you’d be interested in buying them again?

It’s an important question, since many of you have reduced your fixed-income allocations, or eliminated them altogether, on the grounds that interest rates are so low. But even though interest rates remain low by historical standards, they have risen markedly over the past year. The 10-year Treasury yield BX:TMUBMUSD10Y has more than tripled from August, as you can see from the accompanying chart.

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