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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Our Treasury Bonds Diagramed

By Peggy Scott

Serious attention is being paid the the U.S. Treasury bond market in recent trading. When T-bonds show action, the dollar does also. If there is a decline in long-term Treasury bond prices, the dollar also plummets. According to the March 2009 report of the Fed's Flow of Funds, there was $14.5 trillion outstanding in agency securities, mortgage-backed securities and Treasury securities.

China is the first holder of U.S. bonds and other countries heavily invest in the U.S. debt as an investment. Many economists suggest that if China stops purchasing the U.S. bonds, the economy would have increased interest rates which would make U.S. debt more enticing.

With the consequence of huge deficits and out of control government spending, the real value of U.S. Treasury securities are the focus of increased attention. China wants their assets safe and if any question of U.S. credibility would ensue, the pressure to liquidate a portion of their U.S. assets in self-survival mode may seem a likely option.

If China and other nations refuse to buy U.S. debt, the only alternative is for the U.S. Treasury to purchase Treasury securities which would dramatically increase the money supply. To attract investors, interest rates would need to rise. As is the case, when the Fed starts buying Treasury bills habitually, inflation ensues. The Fed in the mid-2009 scenario has used much of the money to buy over $500 billion in mortgage backed 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 current administration's record-breaking plans to fund the deficit and the Fed printing out dollar bills to buy the debt is staggering. The U.S. Treasury is pushing the yield on bonds even higher and the floodgates are open. Some economists are wondering who is going to be purchasing these bonds.

A nation can be destroyed by inflationary deficit spending. Milton Friedman, the famous late economist, gave a warning about inflation being a ''dangerous and sometimes fatal disease''. He believe that it could destroy a society if not checked in time.

China remains the #1 holder of our nation's debt. Economist Milton Friedman warned that the fate of a country could not be separated from ''the fate of its currency''. High inflation and high interest rates are not comforting to an already fragile global economy. The increasing debt boosts bond yields at the same time that the government's budget deficit is not putting on the brakes. - 23226

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