Treasuries are not paying very well right now. Interest rates are low in general. But in the past treasuries and interest in general have been higher. The Federal Reserve has data on the history of various interest yields including corporate bonds, treasuries, CDs and mortgages. I pulled the 10 year treasury bond rates off that page.
Here is a graphical look at the history of 10 year treasury yields since 1962:
The chart goes from 1962 to 2008 and in 2008 it was 3.7%. That 3.7% was the lowest they've been for over 40 years. The average yield from 1962 to 2008 was 7.0%. The high was in 1981 when it hit 13.9%.
October 19, 2009
History of US 10 year Treasury Yield
Labels:
bonds,
historical