News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Interest rates on some European government bonds have gone negative.

Re:Interest rates on some European government bonds have gon... by DunbarTrout on Thursday February 05, 2015 @02:42PM (#9005432)
Could someone buy one of these negative bonds in hopes to short sell it? I barely understand shorting, but it seems like this would be an opportunity (I realize shorting is always risky).
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Interest rates on some European government bonds have gon... by driverdan on Thursday February 05, 2015 @02:48PM (#9005492)
Shorting means borrowing the asset from someone else and selling it, not buying then selling.

I'd guess shorting isn't allowed but could be wrong. It certainly should be allowed.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Interest rates on some European government bonds have gon... by ewood on Thursday February 05, 2015 @03:07PM (#9005638)
There are secondary markets for most bonds so yes, you can short them. However most traders would do this through derivatives such as bond futures or ETFs.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Interest rates on some European government bonds have gon... by whatok on Thursday February 05, 2015 @03:57PM (#9006039)
Most traders would pick the optimal instrument to express their view which could end up being bond futures or ETFs but not always.
[ Parent | on HN ]