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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

FOMC Statement: Will the Fed buy longer-term Treasuries?

by Calculated Risk on 1/27/2009 11:26:00 PM

Obviously the Fed will not cut the federal funds rate this month, however the Fed mentioned last month that they would evaluate buying longer-term Treasuries.

From the December Fed statement:

As previously announced, over the next few quarters the Federal Reserve will purchase large quantities of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities to provide support to the mortgage and housing markets, and it stands ready to expand its purchases of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities as conditions warrant. The Committee is also evaluating the potential benefits of purchasing longer-term Treasury securities. Early next year, the Federal Reserve will also implement the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility to facilitate the extension of credit to households and small businesses. The Federal Reserve will continue to consider ways of using its balance sheet to further support credit markets and economic activity.
emphasis added
So I'd expect some sort of discussion or announcement about the evaluation. When the Fed issued the statement in December, the Ten Year was yielding 2.5% or so. Following the announcement, the yield declined to almost 2.0%, but is now back to 2.5% again.

Just something to look for in additional to the bleak outlook.