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What happened with 30 year bonds after 9/11?

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 7:26 pm
by Sam Brazil
I haven't been able to find historical data...does anyone know how bonds reacted to the 9/11 terror attacks? I'm assuming gold went way up, but I'm curious to what extent TLT will serve a gold-like role as insurance against black swans.

Re: What happened with 30 year bonds after 9/11?

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 8:50 pm
by MachineGhost
Sam Brazil wrote: I haven't been able to find historical data...does anyone know how bonds reacted to the 9/11 terror attacks? I'm assuming gold went way up, but I'm curious to what extent TLT will serve a gold-like role as insurance against black swans.
Went up about 10% into November when it peaked.  Didn't take out that high until August 2002.

Re: What happened with 30 year bonds after 9/11?

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 1:27 pm
by barrett
Sam Brazil wrote: I haven't been able to find historical data...does anyone know how bonds reacted to the 9/11 terror attacks? I'm assuming gold went way up, but I'm curious to what extent TLT will serve a gold-like role as insurance against black swans.
Sam, I think a common misconception about gold is that it goes up when there is a dramatic event like a major terrorist attack, a tsunami, etc. In 2001 the price barely budged. It puzzled me at the time. I remember that Harry Browne was very explicit about this idea in one of his radio shows. He said that the USD is the world's number one currency and that gold is number two. Gold can do really well when the USD is considered shaky for whatever reason. That may or may not coincide with a major world event.

Re: What happened with 30 year bonds after 9/11?

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 5:22 pm
by MachineGhost
barrett wrote: Sam, I think a common misconception about gold is that it goes up when there is a dramatic event like a major terrorist attack, a tsunami, etc. In 2001 the price barely budged. It puzzled me at the time. I remember that Harry Browne was very explicit about this idea in one of his radio shows. He said that the USD is the world's number one currency and that gold is number two. Gold can do really well when the USD is considered shaky for whatever reason. That may or may not coincide with a major world event.
I bought my first gold investment about a month after 09/11 due to 09/11.  It just seemed logical to play the fear trade at the time.  Gold bottomed earlier that year.  It was just luck.