Since 2009, U.S. stocks have sustained the longest bull market in modern history, with the S&P 500 rising by 400%.

Dubbed the “Long, Slow Recovery”, its name can be taken quite literally. At 131 months and counting, it’s the longest of its kind by a margin of 18 months. It’s also one of the slowest growing bull markets in history, compounding at a 16% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Today’s Markets In A Minute chart comes from New York Life Investments, which illustrates the length and growth of every U.S. bull market since World War II. From this, we can begin to recognize that bull markets vary quite significantly.

Two decades ago, total government debt was estimated to sit at $20 trillion.

Since then, according to the latest figures by the IMF, the number has ballooned to $69.3 trillion with a debt to GDP ratio of 82% — the highest totals in human history.

Which countries owe the most money, and how do these figures compare?

Visualizing the 700-Year Decline of Interest Rates

How far can interest rates fall?

Currently, many sovereign rates sit in negative territory, and there is an unprecedented $10 trillion in negative-yielding debt. This new interest rate climate has many observers wondering where the bottom truly lies.

Today’s graphic from Paul Schmelzing, visiting scholar at the Bank of England (BOE), shows how global real interest rates have experienced an average annual decline of -0.0196% (-1.96 basis points) throughout the past eight centuries.

Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade: A Mammoth Merger

In this era of fierce competition in the discount brokerage space, scale might be the best recipe for success.

Charles Schwab has once again sent shockwaves through the financial services industry, announcing its intent to acquire TD Ameritrade. The all-stock deal — valued at approximately $26 billion — will see the two biggest publicly-traded discount brokers combine into a giant entity with over $5 trillion in client assets.

Today we dive into the history of these two companies, and what effect recent events may have on the financial services industry.