China's Sale of U.S. Debt -- Beginning of the End? By RANDALL W. FORSYTH | MORE ARTICLES BY AUTHOR
When all else fails, central-bank monetization of debts is the usual answer -- but not a good one.
[iframe style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" id=topSubscribePromoiframe height=30 marginHeight=0 border=0 src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adi/barrons.com/b2pfreezone_daily_updownwallstdaily;u=null**lDlElIlJlLlPlQlAlTlhll**undefined********8_10004,8_10005,8_10009,8_10010,8_10012,8_10016,8_10017,8_10001,8_10020,8_10034,8_10038,8_10036;msrc=djembdr_h;s=8_10004;s=8_10005;s=8_10009;s=8_10010;s=8_10012;s=8_10016;s=8_10017;s=8_10001;s=8_10020;s=8_10034;s=8_10038;s=8_10036;mc=0;tile=8;sz=540x30;ord=6110611061106110;" frameBorder=0 width=540 marginWidth=0 scrolling=no][/iframe] The dollar's share of China's huge cache of currency reserves has been slashed to a record low, the Wall Street Journal reports, to which it adds the world hasn't ended as a result.
But more recent data showing outright sales of U.S. securities by China suggests a less cavalier attitude would be in order. It isn't the end of the world, just a portent of what can happen when the biggest buyer of America's biggest export -- its IOUs denominated in dollars -- stops buying. |