Wells Fargo Money Market Funds writes in their latest "Overview, strategy and outlook" about the looming debt ceiling. They comment, "Now that we, as an industry, are past money market reform, a bit of normalcy is returning; and this is truly a case where a "new normal" applies.... One of the first challenges the new president and a unified Congress will face is resolution of the debt-ceiling suspension, which is due to expire in March. That doesn't mean that the government will run out of money in March if the debt ceiling isn't raised immediately; as we know from previous bouts, the government has a number of extraordinary measures at its fingertips that could keep it solvent for several months before being in danger of running out of money and defaulting on U.S. debt. One of the first hurdles the U.S. Treasury must overcome is bringing its cash balance down to pre-suspension levels, which means losing about $370 billion from their cash balances. While issuing refunds to taxpayers over the next couple of months will certainly help, we anticipate the Treasury will still need to reduce their cash by up to $200 billion. Normally we would expect to see the Treasury reducing the size of its bill auctions in order to facilitate this run off. However, this has not yet happened. If it does in the coming months, it is possible Treasury rates could decline in the face of demand from government funds; to the extent government funds weren't able to find alternatives -- such as the Fed's RRP program -- this could cause yields on government funds to sag as well. But this may not come to pass. The Treasury may believe, or have reason to believe, that harmony amongst political allies will prevail, and this event will be quickly and easily resolved. One can hope that will be the case, but only time will tell."

Email This Article




Use a comma or a semicolon to separate

captcha image

Daily Link Archive

2024 2023 2022
November December December
October November November
September October October
August September September
July August August
June July July
May June June
April May May
March April April
February March March
January February February
January January
2021 2020 2019
December December December
November November November
October October October
September September September
August August August
July July July
June June June
May May May
April April April
March March March
February February February
January January January
2018 2017 2016
December December December
November November November
October October October
September September September
August August August
July July July
June June June
May May May
April April April
March March March
February February February
January January January
2015 2014 2013
December December December
November November November
October October October
September September September
August August August
July July July
June June June
May May May
April April April
March March March
February February February
January January January
2012 2011 2010
December December December
November November November
October October October
September September September
August August August
July July July
June June June
May May May
April April April
March March March
February February February
January January January
2009 2008 2007
December December December
November November November
October October October
September September September
August August August
July July July
June June June
May May May
April April April
March March March
February February February
January January January
2006
December
November
October
September