Treasury Note

A Treasury note is US government debt with a maturity between 2 and 10 years, paying interest every six months, sitting between the short-term T-bill and the long-term Treasury bond in maturity. The 10-year Treasury note yield in particular is one of the most closely watched numbers in all of finance.

The 10-year yield is the reference point for mortgage rates, corporate borrowing costs, and stock valuation models, since it represents the return available on a virtually risk-free asset that any other investment has to be compared against.