Monday, October 25, 2010

Paying the government to lend them your money...

Oct 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday sold securities that fetched a negative yield for the first time, implying investors are willing to pay the government to own its debt.

This is a milestone in the current rock-bottom interest rate environment, as the Federal Reserve is widely expected next week to announce it will buy more Treasuries to jump-start a sluggish economy.

Typically, investors buy a new Treasury bond at "par" or $100. At Monday's $10 billion auction of five-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), they paid more than $105 and accepted a bond that yields nothing even after factoring in a 0.50 percent semi-annual interest payment.
Read the rest here.

No comments: