U.S. government debt securities considered among the safest investments available.
Treasury bonds (often called "Treasuries") are debt securities issued by the U.S. government to fund federal spending. Treasuries include bills (under 1 year), notes (2–10 years), and bonds (20–30 years). Treasuries are considered among the safest investments globally because they're backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and are very liquid. Yields are lower than corporate bonds because of lower default risk. Treasury prices move inversely to interest rates: when rates rise, bond prices fall. Treasuries are FDIC-insured and available through many brokers and directly from TreasuryDirect.gov. For conservative investors, short-term Treasuries offer safety and modest returns; for institutional investors, Treasuries serve as benchmarks for interest rates and risk-free returns.