“Despite some early angst, Treasury yields have been crushed lower today. Down 7bps from their European close levels, 30Y is trading with a 2.45% handle for the first time ever and 10Y now with a 1.39% handle.”
Comments »Yields Continue to Climb for Spain and Now Germany After Moody’s Downgrade
“Germany’s bunds sank, pushing up yields from near all-time lows, after Moody’s Investors Service cut the outlook on the nation’s top rating citing concern it will have to support weaker euro-region members.
Spain’s five- and 10-year bond yields climbed to euro-era records as the nation’s borrowing costs rose at an auction of 3.05 billion euros ($3.69 billion) of bills. Italy’s 10-year bonds fell for a third day after a report showed services and manufacturing in the euro region shrank in July. Government debt from the Netherlands fell as its outlook was also lowered by Moody’s, along with Luxembourg.”
Comments »Safe Haven Countries See Treasury Yields Fall to Record Lows
Concerns of global slowdown have investors pouring money into what they believe is safe haven investments. Investors are bidding prices higher and yields down for many countries.
Comments »Attention: France is Not Germany
The Spanish 10 Year Yield Revisits 7%
China Increases U.S. Treasury Holdings Amid Debt Crisis
“China, the largest foreign U.S. creditor, boosted its holdings of government securities in May to the most in six months as the American economy stalled and Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis deepened.
Chinese holdings rose 0.4 percent to $1.1696 trillion, Treasury Department data released yesterday show. Those of Japan, the U.S.’s second-largest lender, climbed 1.4 percent to an all-time high of $1.1052 trillion. Net foreign purchases of Treasuries increased $54.2 billion, or 1 percent, to a record $5.264 trillion in May, the data show.”
Comments »Demand for Treasuries Hits Record Levels
Are treasuries at bubble levels?
Since Standard & Poor’s downgraded the US last August, raising the prospect of higher interest rates, Treasury bonds have enjoyed an impressive rally. Investor demand for America’s sovereign debt is running at record levels.
Read the article here.
Comments »Austrian Two Year Yields Fall Below Zero as German Confidence Falls
“Austria’s bonds rose, with two-year yields falling below zero for the first time, and French borrowing costs also dropped to the least on record as investors sought safer assets offering higher returns than German debt.
Spanish bonds fell as the nation sold 364- and 511-day securities. German two-year note yieldsdropped to a record as a government report showed investor confidence in Europe’s largest economy declined to a six-month low in July.
“It’s a story of the semi-core countries such as Austria, France and Belgium,” said Piet Lammens, head of research at KBC Bank NV in Brussels. “German yields below zero are a sign for many investors to give up some safety for the higher yields they can find in the semi core. The safety of these bonds is good enough in comparison to Spain and Italy.”
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Investors Continue to Plow Money Into French Bonds
10 year yields hit record lows in France as investors try to stuff money into safe haven vehicles.
Comments »Spain Completes a Successful Bond Auction With Yields Falling a Bit
“Spain sold 3.56 billion euros ($4.4 billion) of bills, exceeding a target of 3.5 billion euros, and borrowing costs fell after the government announced its fourth austerity package to contain the region’s financial crisis.
The Treasury in Madrid sold 12-month bills at an average yield of 3.918 percent, compared with 5.074 percent at the last auction on June 19, and 18-month bills at an average rate of 4.242 percent, compared with 5.107 percent last month.”
Comments »Vanguard Inc. Feels a Treasury Doomsday is Four Years Away
“Vanguard Group Inc., whose $148.2 billion of Treasuries makes it the largest private owner ofU.S. debt, says the nation has until 2016 to contain its borrowings before bond investors revolt and drive up interest rates.
“In the absence of a long-term credible plan, we are somewhere around four years away on where the markets are going to say ‘enough is enough,’” said Robert Auwaerter, head of theValley Forge, Pennsylvania-based Vanguard’s fixed-income group since 2003 and who this year was inducted into the Fixed Income Analysts Society Inc.’s Hall of Fame.”
Comments »German Bonds Continue to Rise as the Euro Hits a Two Year Low
Memo: Geithner Recommended Libor Changes in 2008
Will it be enough to keep Turbo Tim out of the fray?
According to a June 2008 memo obtained by FOX Business, Geithner, who was then president of the New York Federal Reserve, listed six changes aimed at making it more difficult for banks to distort Libor.
The disclosure comes as lawmakers step up the heat on bankers and regulators in the wake of Barclays (BCS: 10.16, +0.03, +0.30%) reaching a $452 million settlement for allegedly intentionally manipulating its Libor rates. More than a dozen banks are being probed for their handling of Libor.
It’s not clear if the memo will be enough to demonstrate Geithner and other U.S. regulators did enough to prevent the deliberate under reporting of Libor rates.
Read the article here.
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Italian Bond Yields Rise Above 6% on Moody’s Downgrade
Italian bond yields rose on a Moody’s downgrade as investors took money from Italy and stuffed it into Germany, France, and the U.K.
Comments »Market Savior? Stocks Might Be 50% Lower Without Fed
A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York suggests that the bulk of equity returns for more than a decade are due to actions by the US central bank.
Read the scandalous article and see the chart here.
Comments »Investors Continue to Seek Safety in Europe’s Bonds; New Lows Seen Across the Region
As Italy, Spain, and other troubled countries struggle to sell debt, other countries like Germany, France, and the U.K. have a huge influx of buying sending bond yields to record lows.
Comments »China Sells More Bonds Than Expected; Hopes Build for a Rebound
China issued more Yuan loans than expected in June. This spurred speculation China is on the comeback trail and helped to lift the Shanghai Composite while all of Asia fell.
Comments »The Smoking Gun that Libor was Manipulated (Hint: It’s a Chart!)
Spain’s Ten Year Yield Falls Below 7% as Bank Bailout Details are Ironed Out
Fed’s Williams: U.S. Close to Needing QE3
“We’re really right at that edge, if economic data continue to come in below expectations and if our view is that we don’t expect to make progress on our mandate, then I would think we need more accommodation,” Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said on the sidelines of a conference in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.
Read the article here.
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