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Libor’s Rise Matters for Trillions of Debt

  • Scandal-plagued benchmark rises to an almost decade-high
  • Goldman sees tax reform growth-effect requiring more Fed hikes
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Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
Updated on

While the rest of the bond market takes the Federal Reserve’s latest interest-rate increase in stride, Libor is surging. And that still matters.

The steady march higher in the London interbank offered rate shows the U.S. central bank’s tightening cycle does have consequences even as measures of overall financial conditions show they’ve eased as the Fed hiked rates this year. Libor serves as the basis for trillions of dollars in loans and floating-rate securities despite regulatory efforts to replace it following a price-fixing scandal.