Quick question

[--Pete]

Hi,

I'm not an expert, but I'll give it a shot. You can get a lot of information from the Wiki article on them.

= "If you plan to sell your T-bill, you need to wait at least a year after having purchased it, or there won't be a noticeable profit" ?

I don't think so. Since T-bills reach maturity in under a year, and do not continue to accrue interest after maturity (I think), then there would be no reason to buy a mature T-bill. The market for T-bills would be the time between their issue date and their maturity date.

They are sold for less than their actual value?

Their face value (what you're thinking of as 'actual') is the value they will have when they reach maturity. That value includes the purchase price plus the accumulated interest. So, their sale value is the face value minus the interest.

= 1) Other forms of lending money to the government for profit takes even longer to yield any profit?

Sort of. T-bills have the shortest period between their sale and their maturation date. Other government bonds have longer periods. However, you can typically sell any of those bonds at any time. Their value fluctuates in accordance with the economy.

--Pete