Rare bear market in bonds strips investors of safe haven

By STAN CHOE
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — A rare bear market in bonds hasn’t gotten much attention, but it may be inflicting more pain on investors than the depressed markets for other assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies. Investment-grade bonds — those issued by governments and corporations with good credit ratings — have fallen more than 20% from their peak in January 2021. That may not sound like a big deal when other investments have fallen further, faster. The difference is that bonds are supposed to offer stability when stocks and other risky investments take another one of their notoriously sharp swings.  Advisers still suggest holding onto bonds because nothing else looks much safer.