treasurys

Of course, the nice bump stocks are getting in the start of third - quarter trading is probably putting a bit of pressure on Treasurys too.

Among the questions facing investors: After such a shock, would investors run away from Treasurys, which have long served as a safe haven?

With Treasurys yielding only 3%, it's not clear how much more demand the Fed will spur by getting them down to, say, 2. 5%.

That it had done so with investments in Treasurys at a time when Treasury prices are close to historic highs?

For example, U. S. Treasurys would seem to be overvalued given the long-term problems in the U. S. budget and with the dollar.

In other words, if you own two-year Treasurys the Fed just guaranteed that you're not going to get sideswiped by an increase in rates.

Mr. Mangan recently bought Treasurys, since he believes the U. S. economy may fall into a deeper recession.

The dollar is, for now at least, the world's reserve currency, meaning non-U. S. central banks will have to keep buying Treasurys.

Henceforth a foreign pension fund or central bank that once mindlessly ploughed his spare cash into Treasurys will have to think twice.

If China were to let the yuan rise, however, it would accumulate fewer reserves but also have fewer dollars to park in Treasurys.

So much for that: At last week's policy meeting, the Fed stepped aside and let the yield rise without promising to buy more Treasurys.

'Even though long-term Treasurys have had great performance, ' Mr. McDevitt says, 'investors haven't really been chasing those returns. '

One gauge of that demand is the amount of Treasurys held on behalf of other central banks by the Fed.

It deposits money in U. S. Treasurys because its economy does not allow investors to put money elsewhere.

In other words, the Fed was heartened that investors were moving out of the safe haven of Treasurys and into riskier investments.

QE2 focused solely on Treasurys in an attempt to entice investors into buying riskier assets like stocks.

The central bank will have purchased nearly $2 trillion of Treasurys, agency debt and mortgage-backed securities by the end of this month.

Bank regulators also said the downgrade wouldn't affect the use of Treasurys as collateral at, say, the Fed's discount window.

Traders snapped up safe-haven Treasurys, pushing yields ever lower. And a key measure of volatility and investor fears spiked.

Now, Japan, feeling under pressure to weaken its currency, turned around and bought dollars, most likely in the form of Treasurys.

Some of the recent selling by China also reflects a rebalancing into longer-term Treasurys, while allowing some short-term bills to expire.

One option, they say, is for the Fed to alter the make-up of its securities portfolio, by reinvesting its money in longer-term Treasurys.

It could be a boon for Treasurys if economic growth slows, knocking down commodity prices and reducing the risk of inflation.

Corporate bond rates have been surging to record levels compared with Treasurys, which makes it more expensive for companies to raise money.

For now, the market unrest has aided Treasurys, which are seen as a safe haven, helping push prices up and yields lower.

Fast-forward to November, the Fed is posed to inject more liquidity into the system by buying US Treasurys.

He added that Korea's holdings of U. S. Treasurys are 'very small' in absolute terms and won't be affected by the S& P warning.

Treasurys are the benchmark for lending across the economy.

Playing such games can be dangerous, Larday says, since any long-term selling in Treasurys hurts its own interests.

The central bank is likely to buy Treasurys and TIPS again as part of any QE2 program, encouraging investors to buy both assets.

That suggests the central bank has plenty of room to both let the yuan rise and keep buying Treasurys.

But once the yields on Treasurys rise, those on corporate bonds have to follow suit just to maintain the same spread.

And the durability of household demand for Treasurys is no sure thing, given the limited returns on offer.

Lately, U. S. Treasurys and the dollar have rallied mainly because other nations are in even more of a mess.

A perception that US policymakers desire inflation could dampen foreign demand for Treasurys and weaken the dollar, so importing inflation.

It seems more likely that China will wait for global markets generally to stabilize before it starts more aggressively dumping Treasurys.

But expect more talk of buying long-dated Treasurys, as it tries to force down consumer borrowing costs.

Treasurys. The bond market has been the source of much political theater between the U.

She's watched share prices boom since then, and meanwhile some bonds -- Treasurys -- have been slumping.

But in 2008, as the recession hit full force, investors piled into the safety of Treasurys, which sent prices skyward and yields crashing.

In the fixed-income world, corporate bonds look better than Treasurys.

If you retired today with $1 million and invested that money in 10-year inflation-indexed Treasurys, you could lock in a yield of around 2.

Other asset classes are more hospitable nowadays than relatively low-paying Treasurys.

The Barclays High-Yield Bond Index has zero correlation with medium- to long-term Treasurys, meaning the two don't rise and fall in tandem.

The dollar strengthened against the euro and investors bought U. S. Treasurys on the new European bank concerns.

Two years ago, heavy short-term debt issuance drove the average maturity of outstanding U. S. Treasurys to a 26-year low of 49 months.

Investment-grade corporate bonds now yield three to five percentage points more than comparable Treasurys.

Some Treasurys trading desks have cut down on risk.

Improved economic news this month hasdrawn some money out of Treasurys, pushing up their yields.

Treasurys sold off again following the Fed's April meeting, when its policy statement offered little hope of more Treasury purchases.

A stronger economy diminishes the appeal of ultra-safe investments like Treasurys and raises the prospect of higher inflation.

The combination of higher demand and shrinking supply resulted in artificially high prices and low yields for Treasurys and TIPS.

Fed officials said they would reinvest the proceeds from expiring mortgage-backed securities into longer-term U. S. Treasurys.

And as I pointed out last week, foreign purchases of U. S. securities - with the notable exception of Treasurys - is starting to slow.

Anticipation that the tax cut proposal would pass has helped push Treasurys lower and stocks higher this week.

By Dec. 9 it plans to have bought about $105 billion in Treasurys, including a handful of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS.

The yield on 10-year Treasurys has fallen from 3. 85% a few weeks ago, helping keep down the cost of mortgages and other debt.

For better or worse, Treasurys are the largest fixed-income asset class in the world, by far, and the likelihood of default is next to zero.

Then investors will get to see how big the world's appetite for Treasurys truly is.

Risk premiums, the extra interest corporate borrowers pay over U. S. Treasurys, are falling again for corporate bonds.

Slowing the pace at which it amasses U. S. Treasurys, China has started buying more South Korean and Japanese government bonds.

During that time, the U. S. housing bubble peaked and popped, driving investors into Treasurys.

Treasurys can be tricky. And in such tea-leaves reading, some tea leaves are clearly more significant than others.

In many cases, there is little alternative to U. S. Treasurys for investors who need deep liquid markets in which to park their holdings.

Treasurys rallied for two days following the release of the budget. They're rallying again today.

The FT reports that only in May 2009, after the Lehman collapse, was a fail penalty introduced in the US Treasurys market.

The expected yield on risk capital is now more than three times the yield on 10-year Treasurys.

Of course investors haven't given up on their traditional safe havens of U. S. Treasurys, Japanese yen and Swiss francs.

Treasurys, whose prices had tumbled on Monday, rebounded in price on Tuesday as investors sought safe refuges.

Zero-coupon Treasurys, in contrast, are sold at a discounted price but redeemed at face value.

Prices of Treasurys, typically seen as a haven investment, jumped.

Officials from several countries indicated their continued commitment to U. S. Treasurys, a person familiar with the call said.

Treasurys and high-yield bonds also took losses in their worst months since March and May, respectively.

While this should hurt Treasurys and the dollar, a simple, straight-line sell-off is unlikely.

The clearing firms hold vast quantities of U. S. Treasurys as collateral against outstanding trades.

Investors, meantime, snapped up U. S. Treasurys and the Japanese yen, assets viewed as relatively safe in times of turmoil.

Could China move out of US Treasurys and into U. S. real economy assets in a big way?

U. S. Treasurys have remained a favored purchase for those seeking safe assets, but even that picture is clouded.

Investors bid up prices of U. S. Treasurys as they sought their relative safety.

If you bought inflation-indexed Treasurys and were able to clock a 2.

U. S. Treasurys pulled back as the market recouped some of its slide, with the 10-year yield sitting at 1. 95%.

It's that they also need to keep buying Treasurys, or interest rates will go up and their capital losses will be terrible.

Bond prices were mixed Monday, with short-term debt falling slightly and longer term Treasurys rising.

For investors with cash and courage, a crisis in U. S. Treasurys might well pose a historic buying opportunity.

Life-insurance companies could still hold U. S. Treasurys, their trade association says.

Along with the dollar and yen, U. S. Treasurys, German bunds and U. K. gilts, all classic safety plays, jumped higher.

He reiterated that China will be a 'responsible investor' in Treasurys.

But the preoccupation with whether China will turn its back on Treasurys market may have peaked.

For the likes of China, actually selling down Treasurys would risk undermining the value of its existing $1. 2 trillion investment.

The recent sharp tumble in U. S. Treasurys bonds also suggests investors are looking to take more risk.

They are moving more cash to safety in bank accounts, money-market funds and Treasurys, despite declining interest rates.

Nervous investors are buying up Treasurys, sending interest rates lower.

It's a very short list: U. S. Treasurys and to a lesser extent, gold.

China is a major holder of U. S. dollars, through its accumulation of U. S. Treasurys in particular.

That led to big swings in the bond market, where yields on two-year and 10-year Treasurys touched record lows.

Gains in Treasurys have been driven largely by weak economic data.

Compared with the risk-free benchmark yield of 2% on Treasurys of the same maturity, that implies a high risk of default.

Under quantitative easing, the U. S. central bank would buy assets such as U. S. Treasurys to keep rates low and stimulate the economy.

That means foreigners, with around half of all outstanding Treasurys, could demand higher returns.

This could also happen if prices of Treasurys and agency securities became more volatile.

Treasurys are inching up after suffering two days of steep losses, causing their yields to drop.

Cash reversed course, flooding into U. S. Treasurys and German government bonds.

With the exception of U. S. Treasurys and the dollar, nearly every type of investment was hammered.

The Fed already is talking of buying longer-term Treasurys to support the market, so it will be more of the same -- much more.

The Federal Reserve saw record profits in 2009 as its holdings of Treasurys, mortgage-backed securities and agency debt grew.

Many investors bought longer-term Treasurys, with higher yields.

Until investors stop buying US Treasurys, why should Congress change its ways?

So good news for commodities, Boeing, Intel and Apple, not such great news for Treasurys.

Many have long regarded triple-A-rated Treasurys as essentially 'risk free. '

Unlike Treasurys, interest from muni bonds isn't taxed at the federal level.

Bond yields fell as people rushed to Treasurys for safety amid the European debt crisis.

About half of all Treasurys are currently held overseas and half of that is owned by China and Japan.

The Federal Reserve would still accept U. S. Treasurys as collateral after a downgrade.

China currently holds more than $1 trillion of U. S. Treasurys and another $500 billion of U. S. government-backed agencies.

Demand for Treasurys was high despite a flood of new supply in the quarter.

Standard Chartered estimates that China's actual holdings of U. S. Treasurys were $1. 2 trillion at the end of June.

TIPS have outperformed Treasurys in the past two weeks, after lagging behind them for most of the summer.

The dollar rose against riskier-but-higher-yielding currencies such as the South African rand, and U. S. government Treasurys also rallied.

But managers are considering tweaking their rules to allow them to keep Treasurys.

Corporate bond prices jumped, pushing yields to their lowest levels relative to risk-free Treasurys since November 2007.

Adding to the downward pressure on Treasury prices are bond funds and other investors, reversing their 2008 rush into Treasurys.

Though he hasn't shifted the firm to hold only conservative positions, sizable holdings of gold and Treasurys have helped.

U. S. Treasurys are thus free of credit risk. But they are not free of interest rate risk.

Right now, the falling dollar is having little impact on Treasurys.

Among bonds, Treasurys look expensive.

The Treasury has set out to buy $300 billion of Treasurys by the end of August.

But the events have also underscored the paucity of serious alternatives China has to investing in Treasurys and other dollar assets.

Not that Treasurys will necessarily get pounded.

The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which moves in the opposite direction of price, is up some 0. 25 percentage points in October.

The gap between yields on Treasurys and TIPS has widened sharply.

Treasurys have seen weaknesses exposed after a recent sell-off.

Q: So the principal and interest payments on Treasurys are safe.

Experts who have followed Treasurys for their entire careers make compelling arguments both ways.

Five-year Treasurys yield less than 1%.

For now, global angst is driving people to buy U. S. Treasurys, but that may not last once the crisis abates, as it surely will.

The country also shifted into longer-dated Treasurys.

Dollar Index Futures are down about 4% so far this year, but the yield on 10-year Treasurys has also fallen about 13% this year to 2. 913%.

But even $1. 2 trillion of new U. S. consumer demand for Treasurys still wouldn't fill the hole created by burgeoning fiscal deficits.

Many investors think otherwise, flocking to the safety of U. S. Treasurys in spite of rock-bottom yields.

It seems few investors will be forced to sell Treasurys.

'When QE2 ends, maybe those assets go the other way, and people buy more Treasurys. '

For most investors, Treasurys seemed a lot safer than stocks.

Yields on Treasurys dropped as money poured in.

Those betting on a post-QE2 rally in Treasurys have history on their side.

If you followed my columns in 2008, you would have bought gold and inflation-indexed Treasurys.

Japan, the second largest holder of Treasurys, was a net buyer, increasing its portfolio to $768. 5 billion from $765. 4 billion in January.

For them, buying Treasurys is not an investment. It's a way to manage their own currencies and economies.

The dollar was flat and Treasurys climbed.

According to Crane Data, funds invested purely in Treasurys have surged more than 150 percent over the past year, to $726 billion.

If investors buy mortgage debt again, that makes the Fed's life easier on one front, but could sap demand for Treasurys.

Just 14% of managers favor U. S. Treasurys, down from 23% three months ago, while 27% are bullish on corporate bonds, down from 37%.

People know they can sell Treasurys instantly, and be nearly certain of the price they'll get.

In the red, white an blue trunks: Treasurys.

Those who parked in Treasurys would have received a total return of 4. 55%, according to Barclays Capital index data.

March TIC data showed foreign central banks bought $29 billion in long-term Treasurys, the highest monthly total since January 2008.

It is the leading foreign buyer of US Treasurys.

The last recession ended in 2001, but bank buying of Treasurys and agencies didn't peak until 2004, Mr. O'Donnell said.

Yields on safe investments such as U. S. Treasurys are even lower than they were before the mortgage-debt crash.

For example, there is only A$195 billion of Australian sovereign debt, versus more than $9 trillion of Treasurys outstanding.

The spread of investment- grade corporate yields over Treasurys rose to more than 2 percentage points from 1. 5 .

He noted that crude futures fell while the dollar, gold and Treasurys rose.

Yields on 10-year Treasurys, which fall as prices rise, ended the day at 2. 145%, near their lowest on record.

Yields on U. S. Treasurys have been rising, and on Tuesday hit 3. 721%, the highest since April.

Zero-coupon Treasurys maturing from 10 to 20 years have handed investors a return of nearly 17% in the same period.

The first is that when Treasurys offer a higher yield, the yield on other assets needs to rise to compete.

Longer-dated Treasurys rallied as well -- the 10-year yield dropped from 2. 339% to 2. 170%.

According to the Treasury Department, in June China owned some $1. 17 trillion Treasurys.

For the one-billionth time, US investors are anxious about the prospect of China dumping Treasurys to buy other stuff.

The downdraft has caused a lot of robust yields, especially when compared with the 2. 44% yield on 10-year Treasurys.

By contrast, if you had bought newly issued 10-year inflation-indexed Treasurys in early 2000, you would have garnered $43, 000.

At the same time, regular Treasurys, which thrive in times of deflation, are up nearly 9%.

Treasurys dropped as stocks rose on Tuesday; the 10-year yield rose to about 3. 01%.

Dividend yields of 2. 5% also compare favorably with 10-year Treasurys.

Instead of lending, banks are taking the mountain of cash they are getting from the Fed and buying Treasurys.

Yields on bonds issued by financial companies hit a record high of about six percentage points above U. S. Treasurys.

That's because they are priced in relation to Treasurys.

As long as that is a realistic threat, Treasurys will stay in demand.

The Dow Jones Industrials have a dividend yield of about 2. 6% now, compared with 2. 5% for 10-year Treasurys.

The current yield on 30-year Treasurys is about 4. 4%, and on 10-year bonds it's about 3. 4%.

The problem arises because Treasurys are often held on behalf of clients in financial centers like Hong Kong or London.

China could well be buying Treasurys through proxies in the U. K. , Hong Kong or Caribbean, and we wouldn't know it for several months.