Treasury Demand Being Faked?

Leave it to the government to invent a whole new way of tallying demand for our debt when the old way may show that there is no demand. Although unconfirmed, the Treasury may be skewing numbers to show that there is more foreign demand for U.S. debt than is actually there. I guess if the truth came out that our credit-worthiness was in doubt, we could kiss our government's trillion dollar spending programs goodbye. Rates would catapult higher and we wouldn't even be able to afford interest payments. They may be able to skew numbers on one side, but on the opposite side of the world our creditors in the form of China and Russia have made it very clear and explicit that they do not trust the U.S. Dollar to act as the world's reserve currency. Our record levels of debt scares them silly, and rightly so.

Read the article HERE.

U.S. Treasury auction changes may overstate indirect bid

NEW YORK, June 24 (Reuters) - Recent changes to the way the U.S. Treasury tallies demand at its bond auctions may be artificially inflating "indirect bids," a category used by investors as a loose proxy for foreign demand....

To Poke a Sleeping Giant Creditor

This was definitely not the smartest move of the Obama administration. With all the threats - both veiled and unveiled - coming from China that they are seeking to diversify their reserves away from those held in U.S. Dollars, I just don't see what the purpose of these increased tire tariffs are going to serve but to antagonize someone that should not be antagonized. Trade protectionism was one of the prime events that deepened the Great Depression, and if the U.S. is looking to start a trade war with China, then we should not get mad when they decide that they aren't going to supply us with their surplus money to finance our consumer addiction. Obama should tread very carefully here. It's not wise to bite the hand that feeds.

Read the article HERE.

U.S. tire duties fuel trade tension with China

A U.S. decision to impose special duties on Chinese tires could trigger a host of trade complaints against Chinese products and a backlash from Beijing, creating tensions as Western nations seek China's support at a G20 meeting....