Week 4 Discussions
Please watch the video, read the attached article and answer the following questions:
1. According to the WSJ video, what is a key difference between US government savings bonds and US Treasury securities, such as, bills, notes and bonds?
2. According to the WSJ video, what is the specific risk, as discussed in the lecture, that US Treasury securities are exposed to, and how it precipitated a failure of Silicon Valley Bank?
3. According to the WSJ article, Fitch Ratings downgraded the US government debt in August of 2023. What rating did Fitch assign and why? Is this the only time the US government downgrade happen?
4. Why is Fitch downgrade of the US government important for financial markets and what consequences may it have in the future?