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The U.S. Treasury bond market has come to receive serious attention in recent trading. When Treasury bonds show action, so does the dollar. If we see a decline in prices for long-term Treasury bonds, the dollar sinks. According to a March 2009 Fed’s Flow of Funds Report, there are $14.5 trillion in Treasury securities, agency securities and mortgage-backed securities outstanding.

Many countries invest heavily in our country’s debt as an investment and China is the top holder of U.S. bonds. Several top economists believe that if the purchase of U.S. bonds by China were to stop, the U.S. interest rates would increase to make our debt more attractive.

With the consequence of huge deficits and out of control government spending, the real value of U.S. Treasury securities are the focus of increased attention. China wants their assets safe and if any question of U.S. credibility would ensue, the pressure to liquidate a portion of their U.S. assets in self-survival mode may seem a likely option.

If foreign countries refuse to buy U.S. debt, the U.S. Treasury’s only other option is to buy Treasury securities, thus increasing the money supply in a dramatic fashion. Interest rates would have to rise in order to attract investors. And, inflation would occur after the Federal Government habitually purchases T-bills. Currently, the Fed has used much money to purchase mortgage-back securities to the tune of $500 billion.

In a normal economic environment, higher interest rates would be associated with the central bank as they try to cool off inflationary pressures associated with an expanding money supply. However, with less demand for Treasuries, higher interest rates to attract buyer demand is the only viable recourse. Yet higher interest would only push an already declining economy, deeper in the hole. Higher interest rates mean a greater burden on the populace resulting in more mortgage defaults and negative pressure on consumer debt.

Washington’s record breaking Treasury offerings to fund the deficit and the Fed buying the debt through its spinning out of dollar bills is staggering. The floodgate opened by the U.S. Treasury is pushing bond yields higher. Bill Gross, of PIMCO told Bloomberg, “The market is beginning to wonder who is going to be buying these bonds.”

A nation who spends in an out-of-control way can eventually destroy itself. A famous economist believed that inflation was a disease which could destroy a society if it wasn’t stopped.

China remains the #1 holder of our nation’s debt. Economist Milton Friedman warned that the fate of a country could not be separated from ”the fate of its currency”. High inflation and high interest rates are not comforting to an already fragile global economy. The increasing debt boosts bond yields at the same time that the government’s budget deficit is not putting on the brakes.