zero hedge Mon 2009-09-21 14:35 EDT

Atlanta Fed On Federal Reserve Monetization Activities; $1.1 Trillion In USTs And Agency MBS Purchased To Date

The Fed now has $15 billion in purchasing power left under the Treasury component of QE. Of the $1,250 billion in MBS projected to be bought by the end of the year, the Fed was already purchased $840 billion, leaving $410 billion in budgeted purchases over the next three and a half months: about $125 billion per month. On September 15, the Fed purchased $2.05 billion in Treasuries, roughly in the 10-17 year sector; on September 16, it purchased $1.799 billion in the one-to-two year sector. It has purchased a total of $285.2 billion of Treasury securities through September 16.The Fed plans to purchase $300 billion by the end of October, or about six weeks from now, which makes for a pace of about $2.5 billion in purchases per week.

1; 1 Trillion; Agency MBS Purchases; Atlanta Fed; date; Federal Reserve Monetization Activities; ust; Zero Hedge.

The Economic Populist - Speak Your Mind 2 Cents at a Time Mon 2009-09-21 14:33 EDT

Fed accounts for 50% of treasury purchases

There once was a time when the Federal Reserve abhorred the idea of monetizing debt. That day is long over. In the second quarter, the most recent for which data is available, the Fed bought $164 billion out of the $339 billion in net new Treasurys sold. In the mortgage-backed debt markets, the Fed has been buying upward of 80% of the bonds issued by agencies such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. ZeroHedge helps to put this number into perspective: the Fed was a greater factor in UST demand than all three traditional players combined: Foreigners, Households and Primary Dealers, which amounted to a $158 billion in net Q2 purchases.

50; economic populist; Fed Accountable; Mind 2 Cents; speaking; Time; Treasury purchases.

Asia Times Online Thu 2009-09-17 09:23 EDT

POWER WITHOUT CREDIBILITY : A lost decade ahead

Henry CK Liu

The US Federal Reserve faces an intractable unemployment problem. Households, their wealth savaged by the financial crisis and their job security threatened, are now paying off debts and cutting back on purchases. Until consumer spending picks up, no recovery can come.

Asia Times Online; credibility; lost decade ahead; Power.

Calculated Risk Thu 2009-09-03 11:43 EDT

Houses and Autos: The Cost of a Tax Credit per Additional Units Sold

CalculatedRisk

To calculate the cost of a tax credit per additional unit sold, we need to sum up the total cost of the credit - as an example $2.877 billion for Cash-for-Clunkers according to the Dept. of Transportation - and then divide by the estimated increase in sales because of the credit. Remember some cars or houses would have been sold anyway (even though they still receive the tax credit), but it is the additional sales that matter. That was the purpose of the tax credit! (update: Shnaps notes that the auto credit had an additional benefit of better mileage). Highly inefficient subsidies for home and auto purchases.

Additional Units Sold; auto; Calculated Risk; cost; Housing; Tax credit.

ClubOrlov Wed 2009-08-26 10:59 EDT

The new new money

kollapsnik

It's official: The government in Beijing has announced that the Yuan can now be used in international trade. Their mouthpiece for this occasion was the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, a private entity, which made the announcement on their behalf. By the end of this year, it is expected that fully 50% of all transactions with Hong Kong will be denominated in the Yuan. In turn, Hong Kong re-exports 90% of its Chinese imports. Importer #1 is the European Union; importer #2 is the United States. Some of these countries may soon find themselves hard-pressed to earn enough Yuan to continue importing Chinese-made products. This is only the next small step in Beijing's "policy of small steps." Already the Chinese government has ramped down its purchases of US... US dollar losing reserve status; yuan-denominated accounts available in Hong Kong.

ClubOrlov; new new money.

Tue 2009-06-16 00:00 EDT

naked capitalism: Guest Post: The Imminent Disinformation Schism

``naive, easily-manipulated, small-time mom and pop investors, who only care about looking at their daily yahoo finance screens and 401(k) statements...and the forward looking taxpayers, who see the upcoming budget deficit fiasco, the social security ponzi scheme, the Medicare/Medicaid debacle, the ridiculous underfunding in public and corporate pension funds, the rising city and state taxes, the shuttering factories, the rising unemployment, the plummeting American production base, the "seasonally" upward-adjusted economic data coupled with consistently downward revised prior economic releases, the increasing savings rate and the multi trillion discrepancy in consumer purchasing power.'' Time contributing author Douglas McIntyre declares end to 2008 banking crisis

Guest Post; Imminent Disinformation Schism; naked capitalism.

Thu 2009-05-07 00:00 EDT

Beat the Press Archive | The American Prospect

first quarter wage growth slowed below inflation rate, reducing consumer purchasing power

American Prospect; beat; Press archival.

Tue 2009-04-21 00:00 EDT

Jesse's Café Américain: Overseas Private Investors Sell US Financial Assets

Jesse's Café Américain: Overseas Private Investors Sell US Financial Assets; Foreign central banks continued to purchase Treasuries while shedding agency debt. This is largely in support of currency pegs for industrial policy and homage from client states like Saudi Arabia.

financial assets; Jesse's Café Américain; Overseas Private Investors Sell.

Tue 2009-04-21 00:00 EDT

Hussman Funds - On the Urgency of Restructuring Bank and Mortgage Debt, and of Abandoning Toxic Asset Purchases - March 30, 2009

2009; Abandoning Toxic Asset Purchases; Hussman Funds; March 30; mortgage debt; restructured bank; urgency.

Satyajit Das's Blog - Fear & Loathing in Financial Products Tue 2009-04-21 00:00 EDT

Satyajit Das's Blog - Fear & Loathing in Financial Products: Credit Default Swaps -- Exercises in Surrealism

Satyajit Das's Blog - Fear & Loathing in Financial Products: Credit Default Swaps - Exercises in Surrealism; CDS payouts are placing a material pressure on the price of underlying bonds and loans exacerbating broader credit problems ``The CDS market is also complicating restructuring of distressed loans as all lenders do not have the same interest in ensuring the survival of the firm. A lender with purchased protection may seek to use the restructuring to trigger its CDS contracts''

Credit Default Swap; exercised; fears; financial products; loath; Satyajit Das's Blog; surreal.

Mon 2009-01-19 00:00 EST

naked capitalism: US Negotiating to Backstop BofA Purchase of Merrill

Backstop BofA Purchase; Merrill; naked capitalism; negotiations.

Fri 2009-01-16 00:00 EST

Asia Times Online :: China News, China Business News, Taiwan and Hong Kong

China's inflation-free route from crisis, by Henry C. K. Liu; ``China produces from plants financed by foreign investment that operate with low domestic wages for foreign markets that pay with dollars that cannot be used in the domestic economy...China must finance plants with sovereign credit to produce for the domestic market where consumer purchasing power will come from high wages, with sovereign credit repaid from increased tax revenue from a vibrant domestic economy.''

Asia Times Online; China Business News; China News; Hong Kong; TAIWAN.

Tue 2008-10-07 00:00 EDT

naked capitalism: WaMu Purchase Puts JP Morgan at 15% Share of Bank-Broker Market

15; Bank-Broker Market; naked capitalism; shares; WaMu Purchase Puts JP Morgan.

Tue 2008-08-19 00:00 EDT

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Steve Saville On The US Dollar And Gold

"US$ is very under-valued relative to the euro on a purchasing-power-parity basis"; "recent intermediate-term trend reversals in the commodity markets removed the pressure that had previously been preventing the US dollar from moving back towards fair valuation."

Dollar; gold; Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis; Steve Saville.

Tue 2008-05-13 00:00 EDT

Interfluidity :: Counterparty of last resort?

Fed purchasing mortgage-backed securities; Will Fed have contingent liabilities, counterparty exposures?

counterparty; Interfluidity; resort.

Tue 2008-03-25 00:00 EDT

Interfluidity :: Counterparty of last resort?

Fed "loan" "to support J.P. Morgan's purchase of Bear Stearns...not a loan at all. The Fed and J.P. Morgan are creating an investment fund, to be managed by BlackRock."

counterparty; Interfluidity; resort.