"'Treasuries are just not worth the risk,' Thomas Higgins, the Boston-based global macro strategist at Standish Mellon Asset Management Co., which oversees $167 billion of fixed-income investments, said in a telephone interview on Oct. 23." (Bloomberg)
Not worth the risk, indeed, which is why the dollar is getting pummeled mercilessly at the same time. This is from Reuters:
"The dollar fell towards a nine-month low against a basket of currencies on Monday, with more investors selling on growing confidence the Federal Reserve will keep policy accommodative.
"Most expect the central bank to delay withdrawing stimulus until March 2014... The longer the Fed keeps policy accommodative, the more U.S. yields stay anchored, making the dollar less attractive to hold." (Reuters)
So the dollar isn't looking too hot either, is it, which is why China and Japan have started to reconsider their holdings. This is from Businessweek:
"U.S. government debt has already lost some of its appeal among foreign investors. They were net sellers of Treasuries for five-straight months ended August, disposing of $133 billion in that span, last week's Treasury data showed.
"The streak is the longest since 2001 as China, the largest overseas U.S. creditor, reduced its holdings to $1.268 trillion, the least since February...With the economy recovering from the depths of that recession, Treasuries may be more vulnerable to a selloff this time." ("Treasuries Risk Shown as Fed Distorts Correlation to Stocks," Businessweek)
Of course, there's going to be a selloff. Why wouldn't there be? And probably a panic too to boot.
Look, it's simple: If the biggest buyer of US Treasuries (The Fed) signals that its either going to scale back its purchases or reduce its stockpile of USTs, then what's going to happen?
Well, the supply of USTs will increase, which will lower prices on US debt and push up rates. Supply and demand, right?
So, if the other participants in the market (aka China and Japan) think the Fed is about to taper, they're going to try to sell before other investors race for the exits.
The question is: What's that going to do to the dollar?
And the answer is: The dollar going to get hammered.
The US government is going to have to borrow at higher rates which could tip the economy back into recession. Also, the US could lose the "exorbitant privilege" of exchanging colored pieces of paper for valuable goods and services produced by human sweat and toil. Isn't that what's really at stake?
Of course, it is. The entire imperial system is balanced on a flimsy piece of worn scrip with a dead president's face on it. All that could change in the blink of an eye if people lose faith in US stewardship of the system.
But, what exactly would the US have to do for foreign countries to ditch the dollar? Here's how economist and author Menzie Chinn answered that question in an interview in CounterPunch in 2009:
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