Subscribe Feed (RSS)The market for U.S. Treasury Bonds is receiving more attention recently. The value of the dollar tends to drop when long-term Treasury bonds decline in price. The March 2009 report of the Fed’s Flow of Funds shows that there is $14.5 trillion outstanding in mortgage-backed securities, agency securities and Treasury securities.
Many countries invest heavily in our country’s debt as an investment and China is the top holder of U.S. bonds. Several top economists believe that if the purchase of U.S. bonds by China were to stop, the U.S. interest rates would increase to make our debt more attractive.
With the current out-of-control spending and huge deficit in government, U.S. Treasury securities’ real value is the focus of more and more attention. China wants to make sure that their assets are safe, and if there is any question that U.S. credibility is in doubt, the option to liquidate some of their U.S. assets is more likely an option.
If other nations do not buy U.S. debt, the only other option is for the U.S. Treasury to buy Treasury securities and, thus, increase the money supply dramatically. In order to attract investors, rates of interest would have to rise. As what happens when the Federal Government begins to habitually buy Treasury bills, inflation will soar. In the current climate, the Fed bought over 500 billion dollars in mortgage-back securities.
During normal economic times, higher interest rates are a result of the central bank trying to ward off inflation associated with an increased money supply. Yet, there is less of a demand for Treasuries and higher interest rates to entice buyer demand is the only other option. However, this would only accelerate a declining economy deeper into a hole. Higher interest rates only place a greater burden on the population which results in more defaults on mortgage loans and higher consumer debt.
The record-breaking Treasury offerings out of Washington along with the Fed churning out dollars bills is incredible. The floodgate pushed open by the U.S. Treasury is making bond yields soar. Economists are beginning to wonder who will be purchasing these bonds.
Inflationary deficit spending can destroy a nation. The renowned late economist, Milton Friedman warned that “Inflation is a disease, a dangerous and sometimes fatal disease that, if not checked in time, can destroy a society.”
China is the top holder of U.S. debt. Famous economist, Milton Friedman, said that the fate of a nation was ”inseparable from the fate of its currency”. Soaring rates of interest and inflation put an already fragile economy on the alert. Thus, the bond yields are higher as the government’s deficit shows no sign of slowing.
Tags: finance
