This Week’s Perspective

Are the Warning Signs Adding Up?
Bond Yields, 2008 Financial Crisis Risks & Stress-Testing Your Plan

Are the Warning Signs Adding Up? Global bond yields are rising. The U.S. Treasury is buying back billions of dollars of its own debt. Norway is reconsidering part of its Treasury allocation. And comparisons to the 2008 Financial Crisis are making their way back into financial headlines. But are these really signs of another financial crisis or are we connecting dots that don't necessarily belong together?

In this week's Pointe Perspective, we're separating the information from the interpretation. We look at what's driving global bond yields, what Treasury buybacks are designed to accomplish, and what Norway's proposed changes really mean. Then we revisit the Financial Crisis to understand the combination of leverage, liquidity problems and interconnected risks that turned financial pressure into a systemic crisis.

Finally, we continue our scenario-planning series by stress-testing one of the most difficult possibilities a family can face: the loss of a spouse. Instead of immediately reaching for a solution, we look at how changing the timing can change the problem and why identifying vulnerabilities should come before choosing the tools to address them.