June 28, 2011
Greece to issue T-Bills mid-July
Market test: could be a "good idea" or could "end in disaster"
From Reuters article by Lefteris Papadimas and Ingrid Melander:
"Greece said on Monday it would issue T-bills in mid-July to cover maturing debt, a bold but risky test of market appetite in its first auction since securing a mammoth EU and IMF bailout last month.
The debt-choked country is not expected to issue longer-term debt before 2012 but is allowed to issue T-bills, which have shorter maturities, under the terms of the 3-year, 110-billion euro ($136.1 billion) emergency funding programme.
"It could prove in the end to be a good idea but it could also end in disaster," Carsten Luedemann, fixed-income strategist at DekaBank, said.
...Analysts said that investors could show interest in T-bills, despite a sell-off of bonds, since they carry less risk. "Buying such short-term debt is relatively safe for investors," said Kornelius Purps, bond analyst at UniCredit. "I think it will be a relatively successful auction, in the sense that Greece will be able to place all its debt volumes."
Greece's Golden Visa program
