Credit market pandemonium
Not to incite panic or anything. But the credit markets are absolutely coming unglued this morning. A few examples:
* LIBOR rates are surging. For instance, three-month U.S. LIBOR jumped almost 19 basis points today after rising 6 bps yesterday. At 3.06%, it is well above the federal funds rate of 2%.
* The yield on the 3-month Treasury Bill is plunging -- to just 0.28% from 0.69% yesterday and 1% the day before that. This is the lowest T-Bill rates have been since at least 1954.
* A major U.S. money market fund -- Reserve Primary Fund -- "broke the buck." This is the oldest fund of its type, and shareholders yanked more than 60% of the fund's $64.8 billion in assets after losses on Lehman debt forced its net asset value below the $1 level.
* The TED spread - the difference between the yield on three-month Treasury bills and three-month LIBOR -- blew out to 280 basis points, the highest level since the 1987 stock market crash.
* 2-year swap spreads have exploded -- recently up 21 basis points to 128. This is the highest level since at least 1988 (the farthest back my data goes -- see chart above).
* LIBOR rates are surging. For instance, three-month U.S. LIBOR jumped almost 19 basis points today after rising 6 bps yesterday. At 3.06%, it is well above the federal funds rate of 2%.
* The yield on the 3-month Treasury Bill is plunging -- to just 0.28% from 0.69% yesterday and 1% the day before that. This is the lowest T-Bill rates have been since at least 1954.
* A major U.S. money market fund -- Reserve Primary Fund -- "broke the buck." This is the oldest fund of its type, and shareholders yanked more than 60% of the fund's $64.8 billion in assets after losses on Lehman debt forced its net asset value below the $1 level.
* The TED spread - the difference between the yield on three-month Treasury bills and three-month LIBOR -- blew out to 280 basis points, the highest level since the 1987 stock market crash.
* 2-year swap spreads have exploded -- recently up 21 basis points to 128. This is the highest level since at least 1988 (the farthest back my data goes -- see chart above).
posted by Mike Larson at
9:35 AM
1 Comments:
Are we having fun yet? I think this is just the begining of more unsettling days ahead.
By
Anonymous, at September 17, 2008 at 3:55 PM
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