A sideshow stop on the bond tour: agency bonds. Agency bonds live one notch below the security and safety of T-bills and other U.S. government–issued bonds. That is, they are less safe. Most agency bonds are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. It's taken as a matter of faith that the government would never permit the agency debt to default. So far, that's been true, but because it's not a legal requirement, there's a smidgen more risk to holding agency bonds t...
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