What interest rates are and why you need to know about them
2 mins
Despite the name, most discussions about interest rates can be a tad dull. It’s easy to zone out when people talk about arcane institutions like the Federal Reserve voting on what to do with rates – but that would be a mistake. Interest rates are one of the most fundamental parts of finance and in order to be a good investor – heck, even a mediocre one – you need to understand the effects they have on markets. Keep reading – we’ll pique your interest 😉
What are interest rates? When you borrow money, you’re almost always charged interest: a fee that compensates the lender for shelling out their cash and running the risk of potentially not getting it back again. Those fees are normally expressed as an annual percentage of the amount borrowed: mortgages carry interest rates, as
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