Fed to Spend $1T on Mortgage, Treasury Securities

Plan to buy Treasuries, mortgage-backed securities stirs stocks

(NEWSER) - Stocks slumped today until the announcement of the Federal Reserve’s plans to buy billions in Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, which caused a minor rally in equities, the Wall Street Journal reports. Treasury prices surged and yields plummeted. The Dow gained 90.88 to close at 7,486.58. The Nasdaq rose 29.11, closing at 1,491.22, and the S&P 500 rose 16.23 to settle at 794.35. More»

But the rest of the bond market is attractively priced

(NEWSER) - As the credit and stock markets collapsed, investors rushed to Treasuries as the safest possible bet. But the rush to safety could be fueling a bubble, writes Andrew Bary for Barrons. Yields have been plummeting, with 10-year notes at 2.4% and three-month bills selling last week for 0.05%. The bonds will still pay out at maturity, but prices could fall steeply by year’s end. More»

(NEWSER) - The Federal Reserve has slowed its recovery-minded plan to purchase Treasury securities but said that "economic activity is leveling out," the Wall Street Journal reports. The Fed’s policy committee hopes to complete its $300 billion purchase of Treasury securities by October—originally slated for September—and also plans to keep interest rates near zero, saying it “continues to anticipate that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate.” More»

Economy's dive prompts central bank to get more creative with financing programs

(NEWSER) - The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet has more than doubled to $2 trillion since August as it’s financed new programs and bailed out ailing businesses, prompting the central bank to weigh issuing its own debt for the first time, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Fed, looking for new tools to address the crisis, already has begun talks with Congress. More»

Bo Zhang accused of pilfering Treasury software

(NEWSER) - A Chinese computer programmer has been charged with stealing software code worth $9.5 million while working at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Prosecutors say Bo Zhang, a Chinese citizen who worked for a technology firm contracted to work on code at the New York Fed, copied a software system relating to the "tracking of the billions of dollars that are electronically transferred every day in the US’ general ledger" onto a hard drive, then copied those contents onto his home computer, Bloomberg reports. More»