Most economists are tempted to rely on incremental analysis to explain the spread of negative interest rates and their implications for the global economy and markets. This is understandable, yet the inclination to focus primarily on marginal changes could be overly partial and even misleading -- especially for market participants who must navigate the unintended consequences of sub-zero yields, including the possibility of “tipping” events. The conventional argument of economists goes something like this: The actions of central banks and the market pricing of government bond yields have proved that zero no longer ... (full story)