United States Treasury Bills

The evolution of "a marvel of modern finance," the market for U.S. Treasury securities, from 1917 to 1939. The market for U.S. Treasury securities is a marvel of modern finance. In 2009 the Treasury auctioned $8.2 trillion of new securities, ranging from 4-day bills to 30-year bonds, in 283 offerings on 171 different days. By contrast, in the decade before World War I, there was only about $1 billion of interest-bearing Treasury debt outstanding, spread out over just six issues. New offerings were rare, and the debt was narrowly held, most of it owned by national banks. In Birth of a Market, Kenneth Garbade traces the development of the Treasury market from a financial backwater in the years before World War I to a multibillion dollar market on the eve of World War II. Garbade focuses on Treasury debt management policies, describing the origins of several pillars of modern Treasury practice, including "regular and predictable" auction offerings and the integration of debt and cash management. He recounts the actions of Secretaries of the Treasury, from William McAdoo in the Wilson administration to Henry Morgenthau in the Roosevelt administration, and their responses to economic conditions. Garbade's account covers the Treasury market in the two decades before World War I, how the Treasury financed the Great War, how it managed the postwar refinancing and paydowns, and how it financed the chronic deficits of the Great Depression. He concludes with an examination of aspects of modern Treasury debt management that grew out of developments from 1917 to 1939.

A comprehensive and practical guide to the United States Treasury bond market, this timely book offers a detailed introduction to the workings of the largest government debt market in the world and the investment opportunities it provides. Wann begins by outlining the history and development of the market, explaining how it operates and examining the parts played by dealers, investors, and the U.S. government authorities. The U.S. Treasury market is compared with the UK gilts market and its economic and political background is analyzed. He goes on to provide an introduction to investment theory and analytical methods, including yield and return calculations, and looks at futures and options contracts on treasury bonds. The book concludes with a consideration of more advanced investment theory and investment strategies. The appendices include bond-equivalent yield calculations, formal mathematical proofs, statistical data on U.S. government finances since 1789, and a comprehensive glossary. Written by the Senior Economist in the London office of a major U.S. investment house, Inside the U.S. Treasury Market is an authoritative and important book. It will be particularly useful for fund managers, investment analysts, brokers, bankers, and corporate treasurers.