Lenny D. answered 05/21/19
Financial Professional with many years of Wall Street Experience
The yield curve Shows the yield to maturity. it is used to extrapolate discount factors for cash flows with different maturities. It is usually positively sloped unless the Federal Reserve is up to some shenanigans.. IA simple example is that Banks may pay 2% for a 1 year CD and 3% for a 3 year CD