TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities)
Also called: TIPS, inflation-linked bonds, index-linked gilts, linkers
TIPS are government bonds whose principal rises with inflation, so the coupon and redemption both keep pace with prices. You buy them to lock in a real return rather than a nominal one. The market price of that protection is the breakeven inflation rate — the gap between a nominal Treasury yield and a TIPS yield — which is the cleanest daily read on what investors expect inflation to be. In deflation, the principal floor protects your original investment.