July 15, 2010

July 13th Bond Auction a success

There were a lot of doubts about what would happen if Greece went back to the well for new water too soon, but the fears were for naught. The Economists reports on the success in Athens with issuing more paper debt (26-week securities) and the plans for another go around on July 20th:

"... Greece’s auction of six-month treasury bills on July 13th turned inferiority into a cause for celebration. The beleaguered country managed to raise €1.6 billion ($2 billion) at a yield of 4.65% in its first venture into the markets since a €110 billion rescue package from the European Union and the IMF was secured in May.

...The auction was nevertheless a relief. The yield was lower than the 5% interest rate Greece pays when it taps into the EU support package. The auction was 3.64 times oversubscribed. Although it was mostly a domestic affair, Petros Christodoulou, the debt agency’s director, says he was “pleasantly surprised by foreign investors’ demand”. Greece will try to raise up to €2.5 billion in an issue of three-month paper on July 20th. "

The Economist story was titled "an uneasy calm" but something more like relief seemed to be in the reactions to the news.

Meanwhile at Bloomberg, Greece managed to pull ahead of Canada in the bond sweepstakes:

Canadian bonds are the world’s worst performing sovereign debt in July, lagging behind the embattled securities of Greece, Spain and Portugal, as investors bet policy makers will raise interest rates next week for a second time in less than two months.

Government debt maturing in more than one year has lost 0.96 percent since June 30, the worst returns among the 26 countries according to Bloomberg data. That compares to a 1.6 percent return for Greek bonds..."

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