Through data from France, Austria, Switzerland, and the UK, Christensen, Lopez, and Mussche determined that the U.S. Treasury could issue 50-year bonds without significant cost increases (currently, the longest-term U.S. Treasury bond is 30 years). The cost of issuing 50-year bonds is similar (France and Austria, both E.U. countries) or perhaps even cheaper (Switzerland and the U.K.), as these long-term bonds have lower yields. Ultimately, the authors concluded that should the federal reserve introduce 50-year bonds, they would see an almost negligible 0.2% cost difference increase to the 30-year bonds. Read full article here
Research
Researcher uses AI to make texts that are thousands of years old readable
The Gilgamesh Epic, the oldest work of world literature, has been brought back to life by LMU researchers in the Electronic Babylonian Literature project. Using their new Fragmentarium tool, they have discovered hundreds of manuscripts, including the most recent tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic which dates from 130 BC – thousands of years after the earliest known version. This shows how highly valued the Epic was, even at a late period. With the public release of the Fragmentarium, anyone can now explore the thousands of cuneiform fragments and explore the ancient Babylonian literature. Read full article here