MW: Treasurys head for bad week as need for stimulus increases
Treasurys fell Friday, heading towards the worst week for 10-year notes since June and raising concerns that a government stimulus will balloon the national debt, causing investors to demand higher yields.
Ten-year note yields , which move inversely to bond prices, rose 4 basis points to 2.64%. A basis point is 0.01%.
That's up from 2.30% on Jan. 16, the biggest weekly increase in since last June.
"As the economy or stock market gets worse, the larger and quicker will be the multiple stimuli from the government," Andrew Brenner, co-head of structured products and emerging markets at MF Global, wrote in an email.
The House Ways and Means Committee approved the $275 billion tax portions of President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan on Thursday, setting up for a full House vote next week. See story on House bill.
That will mean even more debt issuance from the Treasury, already expected by some to top $2 trillion in the current fiscal year.
Next week, the government will auction $40 billion in two-year notes, an amount that has doubled since November 2007. The $30 billion in five-year notes to be sold is double the amount just a year ago.
It will also sell $8 billion in 20-year inflation-protected securities and $57 billion in short-term bills.
