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Archived view

Viewing March 2012 · data as of Mar 31, 2012

Back to this week

On this page

What changedDeeper evidence
This weekWhy it changedHow much to trust this week

Sunny

Why the weekly brief changed

The evidence behind this week's guidance.

Data as of
Mar 30, 2012
Sources
Historical snapshot
Margin
Funding pressure 70 pts from Cloudy · Not expected to change next week
Scored on
The record's inputs
·How this is judged
  • What changed
  • Deeper evidence

Checked Oct 9, 2026, 6:29 PM UTC

What changed

#
AllGrowthInflationLaborFinancial conditions
Every signal this week, against its line and Feb 29
SignalSince Feb 29Against its lineWhy it matters
Funding pressureConfirms laterGoverns: Hiring, Fundraising, SpendingSince Feb 29No change
This week
0 of 100
Change line
70 · 70 pts below
How hard money is to raise or borrow right now

What would change this guidance: each score’s pause and resume lines, on the brief.

  • Raw source data — Check the inputs at their source before a move that depends on rates

Charts, past months and checks

What are interest rates doing? 1-month rate 0.05%, down from 0.08% on Feb 29

Latest: Mar 30, 2012 · Last saved reading · 1M 0.05% · 3M 0.07% · 2Y 0.33% · 10Y 2.23%

The charts plot month-end readings.

1M, 3M, 2Y, 10Y
How long the government is borrowing for: one/three months, two/ten years.
10Y−2Y
Ten-year rate minus two-year rate.
2Y−3M
Two-year rate minus three-month rate.
pp
Percentage point — the unit of a gap between two rates: 5% minus 4% is 1pp.
bp
Basis point — one hundredth of a percentage point.

Recession warning gauge over time

Ten-year minus two-year rate, one block per period: grey is normal, faint red is flattening, red is inverted.

Mar 2012 month-end: 1.90pp

Whether·whether.work·Month-end readings to Mar 2012

Rates by term

What the government pays to borrow, by how long it is borrowing for.

View by month or year
Jan 2012Feb 2012Mar 2012
1M 0.05%3M 0.07%2Y 0.33%10Y 2.23%

Vertical scale -0.16 to 2.43%

Whether·whether.work·Month-end readings to Mar 2012

Steepness against level

Each dot is one month: across is the two-year rate, up is the gap between the ten-year and two-year rates. The dots stay monthly whichever period you pick above.

latest

X 0.02 to 0.53% · Y -0.10 to 2.00pp

Older months fade back and arrowheads follow the direction of travel, so the path shows direction as well as position.

Whether·whether.work·Month-end readings to Mar 2012

Inversion timeline

How far each spread sits above or below zero. Below zero is an inversion.

Jan 2012Feb 2012Mar 2012

10Y−2Y 1.90pp · 2Y−3M 0.26pp

Vertical scale -0.10 to 2.00pp

Whether·whether.work·Month-end readings to Mar 2012

Biggest monthly rate moves

The months the two-year and ten-year rates moved most, month-end to month-end, largest first.

  • Mar 2012 · 2Y +3 bp · 10Y +25 bp
  • Feb 2012 · 2Y +8 bp · 10Y +15 bp

Whether·whether.work·Month-end readings to Mar 2012

Has the yield curve inverted in the last year? No: neither spread below zero in the last 3 months

Each line is the gap between what the U.S. government pays to borrow long-term and what it pays short-term. When a line drops below zero, short-term borrowing costs more than long-term, the pattern that has run ahead of most U.S. recessions. The last 12 month-end readings show whether that pressure is easing or deepening.

Dashed zero line; below it, the curve is inverted. 10Y−2Y has been inverted 0 of 3 months, 2Y−3M 0 of 3.

Jan 2012Feb 2012Mar 2012
10Y−2Y 1.90pp2Y−3M 0.26ppJan 2012 → Mar 2012Vertical scale -0.10pp to 2.00pp
10Y−2Y
How have the two scores moved this year? Funding pressure unchanged at 90, risk appetite down 7 to 53 (12 months to Oct 2026)

Month-end readings from the archive, so the latest figure here is the last completed month rather than this week’s score above.

  • Funding pressure

    12 mo · 36–90

    90/1000 over 12 mo

    at Oct 2026 month-end

  • Risk appetite

    12 mo · 45–70

    53/100-7 over 12 mo

    at Oct 2026 month-end

What did the brief say in an earlier month? No change across the last 3 months

Past months

Pick a month

The page loads the last Treasury reading on or before it and shows that month's guidance.

Back to this week

This page is showing March 2012. This week's reading is dated Mar 30, 2012.

What it meant · Sunny

Money is easy to get and investors are keen. The weekly guidance sets how fast to go.

← Previous monthNext month →This week
Choose a month and load it
Clear the pickLatest month

Latest reading

Mar 30, 2012

Months available

Jan 31, 2012 → Sep 30, 2026

Past conditions

Conditions, month by month, over 24 months

Pick a month to load it.

Showing:
Mar 2012

Sunny

Jan–Mar 2012

Jan 2012 — Sunny
Which past cycle looks most like this one? Q2 2021 · Near-zero rates, easy money

Closest of 4 reference cycles on the four readings below. A resemblance in the inputs, not a forecast of the outcome.

Match coordinates, reference cycle against this week
ReadingQ2 2021This week
Short-term borrowing rate0.25%0.05%
Recession warning gauge (10-year minus 2-year rate)1.20%1.90%
Funding pressure25/1000/100
Risk appetite85/100100/100
Common mistake then
Hired fast without the onboarding to support it; output per person fell and fixed costs swelled.
What held up then
Raised enough for several years while borrowing cost almost nothing; signed long-term contracts with large anchor customers.
What marked the turn
Inflation rising above 3.5%, and the gap between long- and short-term rates narrowing, marked the end of cheap money.
Which habits from the zero-rate years still shape your company? Infrastructure, support, data, pricing, org chart, and roadmap

The Fossil Record · What a product's shape says about the money it was built with

A way to check how your company is set up against habits from low-rate and high-rate years.

AreaBuilt when money was cheapBuilt when money was expensiveWhy
InfrastructureMicroservices sprawl and heavy coordinationConsolidated monoliths and fewer moving parts“Coordination tax is a headcount tax. Cheap money pays for it; expensive money forces simplification.”
SupportLive chat, phone support, and concierge workflowsSelf-serve help centers and AI deflection“In growth climates, users are assets to retain. In tight climates, support is a cost to control.”
DataStore everything, keep logs forever
Risk appetite
Moves first
Governs: Roadmap, Fundraising, New bets
Since Feb 29No change
This week
100 of 100
Change line
50 · 50 pts above
How willing investors are to fund risk right now
Ten-year rate minus two-year rate.
2Y−3M
Two-year rate minus three-month rate.
pp
Percentage point — the unit of a gap between two rates: 5% minus 4% is 1pp.
Feb 2012 — Sunny
Mar 2012 — Sunny

Longest held

Sunny (3 months).

Cycle notes are editorial summaries of that period's public record, not a measured sample of companies. Compare against any past month →

Retention policies with hard delete windows
“Data is only an asset when you can afford to mine it. Otherwise it is a storage bill.”
PricingFree tiers optimized for reachReverse trials that convert to paid quickly“Free users are marketing spend. Tight capital means you cut marketing and protect cash flow.”
Org chartThick middle management layersPlayer-coaches with wider spans“Management layers help retain talent in a tight labor market. In slack markets, output beats retention.”
RoadmapMoonshots and optionality betsTable-stakes parity investments“Optionality is a luxury good. You buy lottery tickets only when cash is plentiful.”