Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking. Login or Take a Tour!
- One of the most glaring declines has come from Russia, which sliced its holdings of U.S. debt nearly in half from March to April, from $96.1 billion to $48.7 billion. Russia's Treasury ownership peaked at $108.7 billion in May 2017.
In all, foreigners held $6.17 trillion of the total $14.84 trillion of Treasury debt outstanding through April. The national debt including intragovernmental holdings has swelled to more than $21 trillion.
–
They take a long time to expire - treasuries come in 2, 5 and 10-year varieties. While you hold it, though, it pays you a declared rate of return (the interest rate). Effectively, bonds are packetized loans. When the government says "we're selling bonds" what they're really saying is "who wants to loan us money." 
