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Foreign holdings of U.S. debt hit record $5.48 tril; Japan 2nd-largest holder

11 Comments
By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER

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congratulations and expecting new highs every month :(

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Foreign holdings of U.S. debt hit record $5.48 tril

China, the largest holder of U.S. government debt

But economists also said the slowdown in purchases of Treasury securities suggests that investors are more willing to buy other debt

The USA does not sell "debt" they sell Treasury securities. The semantic difference here is huge.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Good. At least I won't have to listen to Japanese constantly saying how they "Own the United States".

0 ( +3 / -3 )

China, the largest holder of U.S. government debt

That's simply not true. The Social Security Trust Fund, to name one, holds way more US debt, at 2.7 trillion dollars. Then there's the Federal Reserve, with about 1.6 trillion.

Misinformation like this article plays into the hands of scaremongering tea-baggers and reactionary Republicans who don't really understand how their own economy works...yet have no shortage of opinions about it.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Sorry JeffLee the stats are correct on this. . . ...........and the recent tensions between Japan and China over the Senkaku islands places USA - beholded to both - between a rock and a hard place, . . . . . . ..

1 ( +4 / -3 )

@semperfi Ah, so the Senkaku Islands are behind the US public debt issue. I see. Whoda' thunk it.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

So basically our government needs to stop spending more revenue than the country brings in. Good luck with that.

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Breakdown of U.S. debt holders (source msnbc.com)

Private Investors (insurance companies, mutual funds) 28%

Foreign countries (not China) 25%

China 8%

Federal Reserve 39%

Also, foreign countries aren't necessarily buying debt because it means the U.S. is a safe investment. They are buying U.S. debt because their currencies are pegged to the dollar, and every time the FED prints money, they have to do the same to maintain parity. Then they take their currency they've just printed, buy dollars, and then exchange those dollars for debt. It's more like they are forced to to maintain their trade balance.

Also, with the Fed in continuous money printing mode, the Feds cut of the debt will only increase. The total debt stands at over 14 trillion, and with the Fed soaking buying up government Debt at about a trillion year, this will necessarily creep up.

But China is the world Bad Guy right now, so when China owns a shocking 8% of U.S. debt, or about a quarter of foreign owned U.S. debt, I guess that's enough for an eye grabbing headline, so long as you phrase it correctly.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@ JeffLee,

I guess China is discussed in the context of Foreign holdings.

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I guess China is discussed in the context of Foreign holdings.

Possibly. But the statement is in the leading sentence of a new paragraph, which is supposed to set the context.

Whatever, the information is wrong and serves as ammo for the anti-Obama types. If it weren't for wrong information, that contingent would have no fuel to run on.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

To me it doesn't matter who holds the the most money over the US but the fact that if the economy of the USA fails, it will cause drastic changes in the world. The United States Government is not doing a good job, right now it doesn't really matter which party is in office but that they stop spending so much. Even as a child i knew not to spend more money than I had, and when I have debt I cut my spending's and save money to pay of the debt as quickly as possible, I also didn't go around asking for more money. The government in the USA is like a teenager stealing a credit card from someone else. they have no money sense nor not a car in the world for whose card it is and whose gonna pay it. For the ones who will pay are not the government but the people

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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