by Peter Howard

There are many global macro investing strategies that make use of the yield curve. While primarily used to trade bonds, there are also several good uses for trading stocks and currencies as well. In fact as powerful as the yield curve is, there is likely a few yield curve strategies for every asset class out there.

The Treasury yield curve is the curve you get when you plot out the yields for different maturities. For instance if the 90-day T-Bill is at .2 percent and the 10-year T-Note is yielding 3.5 percent you have an up sloping yield curve as the long dated Treasuries are paying a higher yield then the short dated Treasuries. Usually you would also plot out the two year, five year, and thirty year along with the ninety day and ten year. This will give you a better …

by John Keynes

There are ten asset classes that are regularly traded by global macro investors. Real estate, venture capital, equities, currencies, commodities, cash, bonds, collectibles, statistical arbitrage, and private equity. While a few of these are tough for individual investors to get into, the majority are easily accessible.

Cash is the first asset on the list. While technically a currency we look at it as more of a place of last resort. You earn a bit of interest on it but basically you only use it when you can find another place to put your money to work for a higher return.

Stocks are next. Stocks represent ownership in a company. When we look at stocks we look at them across the globe. That means domestic, foreign, and even emerging market stocks are included. Obviously we look at them different depending upon where they are located but they are still …