Analysis Topic: Interest Rates and the Bond Market
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
U.S. States Slowly Slipping Into Bankruptcy and Beyond / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Adam_Brochert
Everyone is focused on Europe and their debt problems. The peripheral countries (i.e. PIIGS) of Europe are now being asked to sell off national assets to keep the bankers fat and happy. What a system, huh? Meanwhile, several larger states in the United States (e.g., Illinois, California) are quietly slipping into bankruptcy and beyond. Will they be bailed out? The odds are strongly in favor of federal help for states in dire financial straights. After all, an election year is coming and who ever heard of a government not willing to give away other people's money/future purchasing power to get a few more votes for the incumbents?
Thursday, July 07, 2011
Greece Massive Loss of Sovereignty, E.U. Seeks to Curb Rating Firms / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
By: Mike_Shedlock
Jean-Claude Junker, the man who says "When it becomes serious, you have to lie", apparently has had a sudden splash of honesty, stating Greek sovereignty to be massively limited.
Read full article... Read full article...Greece faces severe restrictions on its sovereignty and must privatize state assets on a scale similar to the sell off of East German firms in the 1990s after communism fell, Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said.
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
China Owns More Debt Than Thought: Did US Win Inflation War? / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
By: Dr_Jeff_Lewis
It has been brought to the attention of the Treasury that China may own more US Treasury debt than once thought. Rules put in place in 2009 limited would-be buyers of US Treasury debt to 35% of any given auction, but by using primary dealers (who have to buy US Treasuries at auction) as a proxy, the Chinese government has purchased more Treasuries than originally thought.
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Wednesday, July 06, 2011
How Commercial Paper Prices In Economic Recession / Interest-Rates / US Interest Rates
By: Tony_Pallotta
In what is becoming a multi part series on how various products price in recession tonight it is time to check out the commercial paper markets. Below are two charts (1) showing the last two recessions and how commercial paper rates performed and (2) commercial paper rates since Q2 2009. Both charts utilize non financial AA rated 30 and 90 day terms. The results were similar for financial paper as well.
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Wednesday, July 06, 2011
The Looming U.S. Debt Downgrade / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Investment_U
Tony Daltorio writes: An old saying, “Be careful what you wish for,” holds true in the investment world at times… such as now.
Over the past several days, the stock market enjoyed its best rally in months. This occurred on the back of news that the Greek crisis was resolved, at least temporarily.
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Sunday, July 03, 2011
China's Secret U.S. Treasury Bond Buying, Nuclear Dollar Dump Theory Revisted / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Mike_Shedlock
Not only did China buy more treasuries than disclosed, it did so in violation of treasury auction rules.
Read full article... Read full article...When the Treasury Department revamped its rules for participating in government bond auctions two years ago, officials said they were simply modernizing outdated procedures.
Sunday, July 03, 2011
No Solution to the Global Credit Crisis, Rising Gold and Silver Prices / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
By: Bob_Chapman
World markets and especially US markets are in a state of uneasiness and it is only a matter of time before they degenerate further. The real question is will everything break loose between now and the end of the year? The answer in part is yes, and it is currently in process.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Global Interest Rate Movements: Half-Year Review / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: CentralBankNews
This article reviews the monetary policy interest rate activity of the world's central banks during the first half of 2011. The key takeaway is that monetary policy tightening has been the dominant game for most emerging market central banks in the first half of the year, however the majority of central banks are still in the no-change camp. Indeed of the 79 central banks that Central Bank News monitors, 33 made net increases to their interest rates, while 40 held their rates net unchanged, and only 6 made net reductions to their policy interest rates.
Friday, July 01, 2011
Time Table for the Coming U.S. Treasury Bond Market Crash, Moves Every Investor Must Make / Interest-Rates / US Bonds
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes:
Since last November, the U.S. Federal Reserve has been buying U.S. Treasury bonds at a rate of about $75 billion a month. That's part of Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's "QE2" program, under which the central bank was to buy $600 billion of the government bonds.
But QE2 ended yesterday (Thursday), meaning the Fed will no longer be a big buyer of Treasury bonds.
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Friday, July 01, 2011
Can the EU Fix Greece? / Interest-Rates / Euro-Zone
By: Victoria_Marklew
The Greek parliament has passed the latest austerity package asked for by the IMF/ EU, and has approved the implementation legislation spelling out the various steps in detail. The markets have heaved a sigh of relief, comforted by the assumption that a new "bailout" plan is in the works. However, nothing has fundamentally changed: Greece is still facing an unsustainable debt burden and the various agencies of the European Union are still unable to come up with a coherent approach to the financial and structural challenges facing many member states.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
S&P, U.S. Will Lift Debt Ceiling, Avoid Default Rating / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Bloomberg
John Chambers, managing director of sovereign ratings at Standard & Poor’s, spoke with Bloomberg Television's Erik Schatzker this morning about the debt ceiling and U.S. credit rating.
Chambers said that S&P would lower its sovereign top-level AAA ranking to D if the U.S. can't pay its debt, but clarified that S&P thinks that the government “will raise the debt ceiling.” He also said that if we get to a situation where the government can’t pay its debts, it will be “much more chaotic” than the September 2008 Lehman collapse.
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Thursday, June 30, 2011
Greek Austerity Package Gets Favorable Vote, Will Bond Yields Head North? / Interest-Rates / Euro-Zone
By: Asha_Bangalore
The Greek parliament voted in favor of the austerity package and the second vote to implement this law is scheduled for June 29. In the meanwhile, 2-year U.S. Treasury note yield moved up 13 basis points in four trading days (0.48% as of June 28 vs. 0.35% as of June 23) and was trading at 0.45% as of this writing.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Dodging Default, French Banks Scramble to Prevent Another Global Collapse / Interest-Rates / Credit Crisis 2011
By: Money_Morning
Kerri Shannon writes:
The threat of a Greek default has become so real that French banks, which constitute some of the top Greek debt holders, have intensified their efforts to ease the country's floundering finances.
French lenders, along with their government, have suggested a debt rollover program, the first private-sector proposal to help save Greece.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
European Debt Crisis Investing, Buy U.S. Treasury Bills / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
By: Paul_Lamont
According to Fortune (citing IMF data), Germany’s banks are now more leveraged than Lehman Brothers at the time of its collapse (Lehman: 31 to 1). Similarly, their leverage is financed by “cheap, short-term loans that are vulnerable to a market shock.” These loans (as we explained last December) are from money market funds here in the U.S. (Investors should Buy Treasury Bills instead.)
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Bankrupt Greece Blackmails Europe, Bailout or Euro Zone Dies, Global Financial System Collapse / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The Greek population is in constant revolt with another 48 hour national strike underway against ever expanding announcements of economic austerity though to date little of which has actually been implemented and therefore risks at the very a least a delay of the latest tranche of Euro 12 billion in what has now become a permanent flow of funds from core Euro-zone to Greece and other peripheral eurozone countries, therefore tax payers of core Europe and to a lesser degree Britain are being taxed to pay for the unwillingness of the PIIGS to pay their bills.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
United States of Denial / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
By: Midas_Letter
The suggestion that there is anything remotely approaching a recovery in the United States, or the world economy, is pure cow pie, as evidenced by the requirement for more borrowing, more easing, and more deterioration in employment and housing. But as the title suggests, its not just America. I’m referring to the heads of state around the world. Apparently too busy jetting back and forth from Washington, New York, Vienna, Athens, Berlin, London and Paris to have anything approaching a grip on reality, we’re delivered surreality by world leaders immersed in United States of Denial. Now the banks in Europe are carving up the assets of Greece as vig for continued lending.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
America for Sale: Liquidate Assets to Avert Debt Ceiling Crisis, Republicans Say / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Money_Morning
David Zeiler writes:
It would be the greatest garage sale in history.
The United States Treasury possesses 261.5 million ounces of gold, worth about $392.25 billion at current prices.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Credit Default Swaps: Why Washington Warnings / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes:
Three years ago, I told you that Wall Street's newest invention - credit default swaps - would cause a major financial crash.
Now, I'll concede that credit default swaps (CDS) weren't the only cause of the financial meltdown that brought about the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings (OTC: LEHMQ) and nearly brought down American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG). But these financial derivatives were a major exacerbating factor - which is why I also warned that credit default swaps should be banned.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Big time trouble dead ahead thanks to the Federal Reserve / Interest-Rates / US Interest Rates
By: Submissions
Sam Houston writes: The paper money dollar experiment of the last 40 years has reached an unsolvable impasse. Since 1971, when Nixon defaulted on the dollars convertibility into gold there has been no restraint whatsoever on the Federal Reserve's ability to finance the U.S. government's boondoggle spending programs both foreign and domestic.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Can The Fed Stop Quantitative Easing? / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
If the Fed stops QE, confidence in the US dollar would rise. Money would flow into US investments, both supporting the US stock market and helping to finance the large US budget deficit. Gold and silver prices would decline. Negative dollar expectations would be squeezed out of oil and grain prices, although drought, flood, and supply factors would continue to impact grain prices and the administration’s wars can impact oil prices.
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