Please make it stop ...
Looks like a broader swath of corporate America wants to get its hands on the Fed's dough, according to Bloomberg. Sigh. Remind me again how long ago it was that I asked the simple question: "When is enough, enough?" More below ...
"A group of companies including Textron Inc., Home Depot Inc. and Honda Motor Co. are pressing the Federal Reserve to expand purchases of commercial paper to include them, two people briefed on the matter said.
"The group is asking the Fed to buy short-term paper with the second-highest debt rating, the people said on condition of anonymity. Other members of the effort include Dow Chemical Co.
and Nissan Motor Co., they said. The program, set up last month, now only takes the most highly rated securities.
"While accepting lower-grade debt could reduce borrowing costs for a broader group of companies, it would also expose the taxpayer to greater risk. The request is one of a number of attempts to get a share of federal rescues, with industries from automakers to heating-oil retailers seeking funds.
"Top-tier issuers are benefiting," while those that sell lower-rated paper are losing out because of the Fed's decision, said Garret Sloan, a short-term debt analyst at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"Second-tier issuers of commercial paper, debt that matures in nine months or less and is a form of IOU for day-to-day expenses such as payrolls and rent, argue they're disadvantaged by the Fed's new Commercial Paper Funding Facility.
"Interest rates on the highest-ranked 30-day commercial paper fell to 1.04 percent today from as high as 4.28 percent on Oct. 9. By contrast, the rates on second-tier debt were 5.36 percent, compared with a high of 6.30 percent on Oct. 15."
"A group of companies including Textron Inc., Home Depot Inc. and Honda Motor Co. are pressing the Federal Reserve to expand purchases of commercial paper to include them, two people briefed on the matter said.
"The group is asking the Fed to buy short-term paper with the second-highest debt rating, the people said on condition of anonymity. Other members of the effort include Dow Chemical Co.
and Nissan Motor Co., they said. The program, set up last month, now only takes the most highly rated securities.
"While accepting lower-grade debt could reduce borrowing costs for a broader group of companies, it would also expose the taxpayer to greater risk. The request is one of a number of attempts to get a share of federal rescues, with industries from automakers to heating-oil retailers seeking funds.
"Top-tier issuers are benefiting," while those that sell lower-rated paper are losing out because of the Fed's decision, said Garret Sloan, a short-term debt analyst at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"Second-tier issuers of commercial paper, debt that matures in nine months or less and is a form of IOU for day-to-day expenses such as payrolls and rent, argue they're disadvantaged by the Fed's new Commercial Paper Funding Facility.
"Interest rates on the highest-ranked 30-day commercial paper fell to 1.04 percent today from as high as 4.28 percent on Oct. 9. By contrast, the rates on second-tier debt were 5.36 percent, compared with a high of 6.30 percent on Oct. 15."
posted by Mike Larson at
4:46 PM
1 Comments:
been reading your blog for a long time. keep up the good work
sadly, i think this story might top anything i've seen yet. It's left me speechless
first sentence
"The Independent Connecticut Petroleum Association and eight other northeastern energy associations have appealed to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsen to allow retail heating oil dealers to gain “access” to federal bail-out money so they can break out of excessively expensive locked-in heating oil contracts with wholesalers"
http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2008/11/14/business/doc4918580186eb4985070134.txt
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Anonymous, at November 14, 2008 at 1:09 PM
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