Today’s WTF meme of the day is this WSJ article, Fed Weighs Debt Sales of Its Own:
The Federal Reserve is considering issuing its own debt for the first time, a move that would give the central bank additional flexibility as it tries to stabilize rocky financial markets.
Government debt issuance is largely the province of the Treasury Department, and the Fed already can print as much money as it wants. But as the credit crisis drags on and the economy suffers from recession, Fed officials are looking broadly for new financial tools.
Fed officials have approached Congress about the concept, which could include issuing bills or some other form of debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
It isn’t known whether these preliminary discussions will result in a formal proposal or Fed action. One hurdle: The Federal Reserve Act doesn’t explicitly permit the Fed to issue notes beyond currency.
Just exploring the idea underscores many challenges the ongoing problems are creating for the Fed, as well as the lengths to which the central bank is going to come up with new ideas.
There are going to be screams about this.
The Fed’s balance sheet is a shambles, blasting from 900 billion to more than $2 trillion since August alone.
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Source:
Fed Weighs Debt Sales of Its Own
Move Presents Challenges: ‘Very Close Cousins to Existing Treasury Bills’
JON HILSENRATH and DAMIAN PALETTA
WSJ, DECEMBER 10, 2008
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122888021757894023.html
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