Description: This article compares the best estimates of the Investment Section members those who submitted entries for the 3-month Treasury bill rate, 30-year Treasury bond rate and the Dow Jones Industrial Average index value and year-end 1999 with the actuals.

Description: Interest rates steadily declining ever since the Volcker Fed tackled inflation in the early eighties. Ten years of stimulating monetary policy brought new lows. We should have braced ourselves for a return to neutrality, but that concept remains elusive. We will explore structural issues that have brought rates to these low levels and the potential impacts on the insurance business.