Buttonwood The Issuance Issue

摘要

"Roll up, roll up. Get your government bonds here. They may not pay much, but they're safe. Buy 'em now in case stockmarkets don't last."rnAs the recession deepens, finance ministers round the world may be forced to resort to the tactics of the market stallholder. Politicians hope that deficit financing will be the way to stimulate the economy. But someone has to buy all those bonds.rnThey are easy to sell at the moment. The prices of risky assets like shares and corporate bonds have been plunging. Banks are so desperate for the security of government paper that they are accepting yields close to zero on three-month Treasury bills. "Yields on American ten-year Treasury bonds have fallen to around 3%, their lowest in a generation. British government bonds, or gilts, with the same maturity are returning about 4%, despite the rise in the budget deficit planned by Alistair Darling, the chancellor.