Theinter-bankmarket-wherebanksbor-rowfromorlendtoeachother-isflushedwithmoneyatthemoment,duetoafloodoffor-eignfundsandthecontinuedfallininterestrates.Thismeansthatbanksherehavemoremo-neythantheyneedandaremotivatedtolendoutsuch"idlemoney".Hence,thelowhousingloanrates,forexample.ThiscontrastswiththesituationattheheightoftheAsianeconomiccrisiswhentherewasaliquiditycrunch,andinterbankrates,whicharetheratesatwhichbanksborrowfromorlendtoeachother,hitashighas12%.Also,interestrateshavefallensignificantlyoverthelastfewmonths,aphenomenonthatwouldstimulateeconomicgrowthaslowerborrowingcostsandsavingsrateswillen-couragebusinessestoinvestandhouseholdstoconsume.Insuchalowinterest-rateenvironment,itmaystillbegoodforinvestorstoconsiderin-vestingsomemoneyinbondsbecausetheywillbeabletoachieveahigherreturnthancashdeposits.Forexample,inSingapore,currentshort-termfixeddepositratesarenowabout1%,comparedwith3%fora5-yearSingaporegovernmentbondand3.6%fora5-yearHDBbond.Inotherwords,relativetoshort-termde-positrates,onecanpickup2%morebyhold-ingthebondfor5years.Interestratesaside,theretailinvestorshouldpayheedtoamorefundamentalprinciplea-boutinvestinginbonds:itdoesnotmatterwhetherinterestratesarehighorlow-bondsplayanessentialpartinaperson''sinvestmentportfolio.Investorsmayfindthisstatementhardtoswallow,giventhecurrentstockmarketrally.Nodoubt,theSingaporestockmarkethasrisenbyabout55%overthelastsixmonthsandisthebestperformingassetclassnow;yet,itisimportanttonotethatthestockmarkethadalsofallensubstantiallybyabout37%inthefirst9monthsof1998alone.Therefore,investorsshouldbemindfulofthevolatilityofthestockmarket.Bonds,measuredbytheUOBGovernmentBondIndex,arelessvolatilealthoughtheprobabilityofearninghigherreturnsthanequitiesislower.Cashdeposits,measuredbythethree-monthSingaporeInter-BankOfferRate,aretheleastvolatilebutthisisoffsetbythefactthatreturnsarethelowest.Inanutshell,aninvestorshouldconsiderinvestinginbondsasanalternativeassetclassforthepurposeofdiversificationandinconsi-derationofhisoverallinvestmentobjectives.Theseobjectivesincludewhetherthereisagreaterneedforcapitalgainsorregularin-come.Otherconsiderationssuchasliquidityneedsandtimehorizonalsodetermineanin-vestor''sappetitetoassumerisksand,accord-ingly,hischoiceofassetclasstoinvestin.Asabondpaysaregularcoupon,orinterestrate,itmaybesuitableforinvestors,forexam-ple,retirees,whorequirearegularincomeoveraspecifictimehorizon.Thehigherneedforcertaintyofincomewouldmeanalowertoleranceforvolatility.Althoughcashdepositsmayearninterest,however,duetotheirshortertenors,ortime-frames,aninvestormayfacetheriskofroll-ingover,orreinvestinghismoney,atlowerinterestrateswhenthedepositmatures.Forexample,inearly1998,wheninter-bankrateswereashighas12%,investorswholockedintheirfundsathighdepositratesofabout6%forayearwouldhavehadtorollo-veratmuchlowerinterestrates12monthsla-terwhentheirdepositsmaturedandrateshadfallentoabout1%.Secondly,ifaninvestorhasexcesscashwhichheintendstouseatalaterdate,itmaybeadvisabletoinvesthisexcesscashinlessvolatileinstrumentstopreservehissavingsaswellasenhancehisreturns.Therefore,bonds,likestocksoranyotherassetclass,canfulfilcertaininvestmentob-jectives.Howdoesoneinvestinthebondmarket?Currently,retailinvestorscanbuySingaporegovernmentbondsoverthebankingcounter.TheminimuminvestmentforgovernmentbondsisS$1,000andtreasurybillsisS$10,0000.Investorscanbuyandsellonadailybasis.Thecostoftransactionisusuallythediffer-encebetweenthepurchasepriceandsalepriceofthebond,andmayvaryfrombanktobank.Theycanalsobuybondsasandwhennewissuesarelaunched.Forexample,HDBandJTCbondswereofferedtotheretailmarketduringtheirprimarylaunches.Alternatively,investorscanconsiderinvest-inginfixedincomeunittrusts.Thebenefitsofunittrustsarethatinvestorsareabletoinvestinsmallerdenominationswithtypicalinvest-mentsofS$1,000.在外国资金流入和利率持续下跌的带动下，目前银行间彼此借贷的银行同业市场资金充斥。这意味着，这里的银行拥有的资金比它们所需要的多，所以乐意把这些“闲钱”借出去。例如说，把房屋贷款利率调低。比起亚洲危机最紧张的时期，情况刚好相反，当时的资金紧缩、银行间彼此借贷的同业拆息率高达12%。此外，利率在去几个月里明显下跌，这是一个可刺激经济增长的征兆，因为较低的贷款成本和储蓄利率将鼓励商家投资和家庭消费。在这样的低利率环境下，投资者可以考虑把一些资金投资在债券，因为他将能取得比现金存款高的回报。例如，在新加坡，目前的短期定期存款利率大约是1%，而5年期政府债券是3%，5年期建屋发展局债券是3.6%。换句话说，与短期存款利率比较，持有5年期债券可得到的回报相对多了2%。除了利率之外，散户投资者也应该注意投资债券的基本原则：不论利率是高还是低，债券在一个人的投资组合中扮演重要的角色。目前的股票市场牛劲十足，投资者可能觉得这种说法难以消化。毫无疑问的，新加坡股票市场已经在过去六个月里涨了大约55%，是表现最优异的资产等级；但是，值得留意的是，单单在1998年的首9个月，股票市场也曾经显著下跌了大约37%。因此，投资者应小心股票市场波动。以大华银行政府债券指数衡量的债券，虽然赚取比股票高的回报的可能性低，但是波动比较没有那么大。以3个月银行同业拆息率衡量的现金存款，它的波动最低，但是它的回报也是最低的。总的来说，投资者应该考虑把债券投资当作另一个资产等级的选择，以达到多元化投资和整体投资目的。这些目的包括是否要取得资本回报或是定期的收入。其他的考虑还有变现的需要，而投资期也决定投资者承担风险的胃口，因此影响他选择投资的资产等级。债券定期支付利息，可能比较适合那些在固定时期内需要有定期收入的投资者，如退休人士。越需要有稳定的收入的人，对波动的容忍能力越低。虽然现金存款能带来利息，但是它的投资期限较短，投资者面对的风险是，如果存款到期时的利率比较低，得把资金再作投资。例如说在1998年初，当银行同业拆息率高达12%时，以大约6%的存款利率把资金锁定一年，存款期于12个月后到期时，利率已经跌到约1%，投资者得以显著较低的利率更新存款。第二，如投资者有多余的现金并希望在日后使用，可能比较适合把这些多余的现金投资在波动没有那么厉害的工具，以保住他的储蓄，以及加强他的投资回报。散户投资者现可通过银行柜台购买新加坡政府债券。政府债券的最低投资额是1000元，而国库券的最低投资额是1万元。投资者可每天买卖。交易成本通常是债券的买价和卖价之间的差距，每家银行不一样。他们也可以在有新债券发行时购买。例如，建屋发展局和裕廊镇管理局的债券初次发行时，都在散户市场出售。又或者，投资者可以考虑投资固定收入单位信托。单位信托的好处是，投资者可作较小数额的投资，典型投资额是1000元。摩根建富公司的基金经理。