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For months, there has been talk inside and outside the Federal Reserve that the U.S. central bank might have to use an unorthodox method to exit its bond buying program. That could be even more accurate now. On Monday, four days after Bernanke announced the Fed would put off winding down the program -- the so-called taper -- New York Fed president William Dudley said the U.S. central bank was testing so-called reverse repos as one method to eventually increase interest rates.
In reverse repos, the Fed drains money from the economy by having banks, money market funds, and others give it money overnight for a fee. It's kind of like a loan, but not quite. The Fed gives banks Treasury bonds as collateral. The rate on the repo effectively sets short-term interest rates, because why would anyone make a loan for less when the Fed is willing to pay risk-free?
That's not how the Fed typically raises interest rates. Historically, it has sold Treasury bonds to drive up rates. But that may no longer work because the U.S. central bank now has over $3.5 trillion in Treasury and mortgage bonds. It would take much more selling than usual to move the market. What's more, to calm market fears about its bond buying program, Bernanke essentially pledged that the U.S. central bank would never actually sell the bonds.
Italy’s government bonds fell amid speculation that traders who deal directly with the Rome-based Treasury bought most of the securities at today’s auction as the nation’s political tensions deterred other buyers.
Italian 10-year bonds dropped for a second day before Prime Minister Enrico Letta meets President Giorgio Napolitano to discuss the government’s prospects for survival. Former premier Silvio Berlusconi’s allies this week threatened to step down from the coalition if he is expelled from the Senate. Italy auctioned a combined 6 billion euros ($8.1 billion) of five- and 10-year debt. German bunds rose with Dutch securities as European stocks declined, boosting demand for safer assets.
“The issue is that it was a dealer-led affair and there wasn’t much real-money buying,” said Harvinder Sian, a senior fixed-income strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in London. “The dealers have had to take too much of the debt so we’re likely to see some of that coming back in to the market. For us, the risk-reward for Italian debt at these levels is not that compelling.”
Italy’s 10-year yield climbed seven basis points, or 0.07 percentage point, to 4.41 percent at 2:50 p.m. London time, extending this week’s increase to 12 basis points. The rate jumped 10 basis points yesterday, the most since Sept. 5. The 4.5 percent bond maturing in May 2023 fell 0.555, or 5.55 euros per 1,000-euro face amount, to 101.06. Italy?s Bonds Drop as Political Tensions Deter Buyers at Auction - Bloomberg
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interesting how the media has seemed to have forgotten, Greece, Italy, Portugal.
I rad an article about the hard landing of China is inevitable with the non-stimulus policies of the new Premier.
US debt ceiling and (IMO) a US equity bubble ... storm clouds...)
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told Congress Tuesday that the U.S. government has started to use the last of its "extraordinary measures" to ensure it stays below debt ceiling.
Now that those steps are underway, it won't be long before the country can no longer pay all its bills in full.
"There are no other legal and prudent options to extend the nation's borrowing authority," Lew wrote. The Treasury Department "continues to believe" that it will run out of extraordinary measures no later than Oct. 17, he added.
At that point, Treasury will only be able to pay the bills that come due with two things -- the $30 billion in cash that Lew estimates Treasury will have on hand in mid-October, plus the revenue coming in every day.
(Related:8 things you need to know about debt ceiling)
Since daily payments and daily revenue inflows vary from day to day, it's impossible to predict exactly when Treasury will come up short and be unable to pay everything that's due, putting the country at risk of default.
The Congressional Budget Office projects that day could come between Oct. 22 and Oct. 31, if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling, which currently stands at $16.699 trillion. Treasury down to last steps on debt ceiling - Yahoo Finance
Thursday, while working at the coffee shop, a fellow patron after asking what I did, said
"I'm surprised you don't have a lucky charm."
I thought about this, and thought (I'm surprised too) and dug out my silver dollar to put in my jeans pocket for Friday.
(I don't really know what to have for a lucky charm - I guess it will do?)
This morning, Saturday, I hefted the coin -solid safe re-assuring.
The weight in my hand seemed to summarize the change in the world.
When that coin was distributed a silver dollar coin was a dollar - you could ask for it at the bank - your grandfathers and grandmothers would give them as birthday gifts.
Beautiful, with a lustrous shine it was something worth having.
-felt wonderful in the hand of a child.
In 1967 Canada stopped making silver coins (the dollar, 50 cent piece, the quarter and dime -- all silver). Hunt brothers had pushed the price up and Americans were buying and melting the coins. Sadly and irritreviably the world enter inflation and the govt never went back to silver even when inflation ended.
(A silver $5 piece weighing a troy ounce can be purchased at the post office for about $30)
I imagine a one dollar silver coin would have to be about 1/30 of an ounce - very embarrassing for the govt to issue - a graphic reminder of their epic mismanagement of the economy.
Times gone by
lost era of solidness, professionalism and pride in a doing your job well.
A great crash is coming- say my bones and the weight of the silver dollar in my palm.
As the great bankster's thief - bad Ben strolls chuckling into the sunset rubbing his hands with glee at the horrendous damage he has done - robbing the nation's treasury to enrich his cronies at Goldman Sucks and JP money..
17 trillion
$17,000,000,000,000.00 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
of debt.
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I'm the first to admit the chart attached is green - but Noah didn't wait for rain before building his ark (buying puts).