tyb
hope dat wasn't too "busy" wif da bun
started from scratch
>>57222 pb
EXEC1F USAF C-32A on approach for JBA from Kansas City, MO ground stop
02-4452 USAFSOC C-32B on approach for McGuire AFB, NJ from Eglin AFB
Greensill did not get special treatment, says Sunak
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he would not have done anything differently in his approach to Greensill Capital amid questions over the firm's lobbying. He added that intensive lobbying by David Cameron did not mean the finance firm got special treatment. Speaking to MPs on the Treasury Select Committee, Mr Sunak said he had looked at issue "on the merits of it". But Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh said she found that hard to believe. Last year, former Prime Minister David Cameron tried to convince the Treasury to let Greensill join an emergency Covid lending scheme, sending multiple texts, WhatsApp messages and emails to senior ministers, as well as having numerous calls and meetings.
Greensill was rebuffed by the Treasury and has since gone bust. But the government has faced scrutiny over Mr Cameron's level of access. On Thursday, Mr Sunak told MPs the distressed firm was not given extra attention and its approach underwent proper due diligence. "I think it was entirely right that we considered these proposals on their merits given the context at the time and I stand by the decisions that we made not to take the proposals forward," he said. He added: "It is important for the policymaking process that people feel they can engage with ministers and officials, policy is better as a result of that. And often informal conversations as part of that process or people providing private perspectives on things help with the policymaking process."
Asked if he thought that there were any lessons for the Treasury, or if he would do things differently in future, Mr Sunak said: "No, I don't, as I said, I stand very firmly behind the approach we took." Some MPs were unconvinced. Addressing Mr Sunak, Ms McDonagh said: "25 texts, 12 WhatsApps, 8 emails, 11 calls and 9 meetings with senior ministers and officials. Can you name me another company that got that amount of access at the height of the crisis?" Mel Stride, the committee's Conservative chair, told Mr Sunak that claims he was not swayed by Mr Cameron were not credible. "It just doesn't seem credible if it was a former prime minister pushing something as vigorously as he did, at the very highest level," Mr Stride said. Mr Sunak's defence of the Treasury's actions came after the department's top two officials appeared in front of the same committee earlier on Thursday.
Charles Roxburgh, second permanent secretary to the Treasury, said that he had been aware of allegations about problems at Greensill, which collapsed in March, but defended his nine meetings with its representatives. "There were reputation issues around Greensill... but we have to talk to companies even if they have bad press," he said. Mr Sunak said firm's failure would cost the government around ÂŁ8m in direct costs, including taxes that Greensill owed, and possibly as much as ÂŁ400m in other indirect costs.
However, former City minister Lord Myners has said the collapse of the finance firm could cost taxpayers ÂŁ5bn. Last week, Mr Cameron told the Treasury Committee he had not broken any rules when he tried to influence ministers and officials on behalf of Greensill Capital. He said it had been "appropriate" for him to call and text ministers and officials directly, as financial schemes were being designed quickly at a "time of extraordinary crisis".
But he conceded that in future "prime ministers should only ever use letter or email, and should restrict themselves far more".
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57277046
>>57208, >>57210, >>57220, Fed's Reverse Repo Hits All Time High $485BN As Reserves Flood System
Half a Trillion Dollars Is Sitting at the Fed Earning Nothing
There’s so much spare cash sloshing around U.S. funding markets that investors are choosing to park almost half a trillion dollars at the central bank earning absolutely nothing. Usage of the Federal Reserve’s reverse repo facility a mechanism that’s part of the central bank’s arsenal for helping to steer short-term interest rates surged on Thursday to an unprecedented $485.3 billion. And with the forces driving the dollar glut still some way from abating, that figure could climb further, adding fuel to an increasingly complex debate about what the Fed should do with its various tools to keep a rein on policy. While the offering rate on the Fed reverse repo facility is 0%, there is a lack of alternative places to safely stash money for very short periods. On top of that, some of those like Treasury bills and market-based repurchase agreements -- have seen their rates fall at times to negative levels, meaning investors are essentially paying for the privilege of putting their money somewhere. Compared to that, 0% doesn’t seem so bad.
The RRP facility, as it’s commonly called, is “the only safety valve” for the pressure that’s been building up in money markets, according to Gennadiy Goldberg, a senior rates strategist at TD Securities in New York. “It’s really just holding back the flood of cash coming.” The massive buildup of dollars in the funding market is in part related to the Fed’s huge monthly bond-buying program, and is therefore providing fodder for the debate about just when and how quickly the Federal Reserve ought to begin dialing back its asset purchases. But the connection between the purchases and short-end dislocations is not straightforward. Many observers doubt that this as an issue that will substantially move the Fed’s position on tapering, and it is the prospects of sustained inflation and interest-rate hikes that are seen as the key drivers of that discussion. The enormous amount of fiscal stimulus being pumped into the economy is also playing a role in the glut, as is the need for the Treasury to curtail the amount of money it has on hand so it can meet a looming legal requirement on cash levels that is linked to the reinstatement of the federal debt ceiling.
This drawdown in the Treasury general account is not only boosting the amount of cash reserves in the system in search of a home, but the speed at which it’s happening also means there are fewer instruments for short-end investors to buy. That’s because one of the easiest ways to reduce the cash balance is to not issue as many Treasury bills the government’s shortest-term instruments when the old ones mature. Simply putting the cash to work in a bank account is also not a ready solution, with regulatory constraints spurring some banks to turn away deposits, which instead flow toward money-market funds and feed the abundance.
Usage of the Fed’s RRP facility has now exceeded levels typically only seen at key dates in the funding calendar -- even though the current period is not typically a major crunch point. The previous record volume of $474.6 billion took place on Dec. 31, 2015, while the next biggest day was also on the final day of a year. Month-and quarter-end periods have also been known to show some signs of stress, so it’s a distinct possibility that usage will climb again on Friday, the final trading day of this month, although many observers doubt that it will stop there.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/half-a-trillion-dollars-is-sitting-at-the-fed-earning-nothing-1.1609563
some of them were ok but when that one came in I switched off.
I'll repost
Fed's Reverse Repo Hits All Time High $485BN As Reserves Flood System
We knew it would be a crazy day for today's reverse repo early this morning, when the overnight GCF repo rate traded at -0.01% and refused to rise, an indication that there was far too much money chasing good collateral. Looking at the scramble for repo, interbroker dealer Wrightson ICAP said on Thursday morning that it saw Reverse Repo volumes rising to around $470 billion Thursday, though the risks are “still tilted to the high side.”
They were, because moments ago the Fed announced that at 1:15pm some 50 counterparties (up from 46 on Wednesday) parked $485.329BN in reserves with the Fed (in exchange for the generous rate of 0.000%), which was up $35BN overnight, up $134BN in the past week, and the highest on record!
As for the immediate market implications they are even more ominous: either the Fed will have to hike the IOER fast or rates will soon go negative. Worse, with the Fed still planning to do at least $1 trillion in QE even assuming a December taper, and potentially as much as $2 trillion based on the latest just released Fed "forecast", there is simply no place to park all of these reserves.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/feds-reverse-repo-hits-all-time-high-485bn-reserves-flood-system
https://apps.newyorkfed.org/markets/autorates/temp
>>47697 pb Federal Reserve Bank of New York Reverse Repo(s) April 8-23: $625.35B
>>49822 pb Federal Reserve Bank of New York Reverse Repo Operations April 26-30: $766.523B
>>51731 pb Federal Reserve Bank of New York Reverse Repo Operations week of May 2nd, 2021-$757.09b
>>53526 pb Federal Reserve Bank of New York Reverse Repo Operations Week of May 9th-$1.042T
>>55522 pb Federal Reserve Bank of New York Reverse Repo Operations Week of May 16th-$1.46T
Looks like it was on ground for just under two hours.
Habs not been following the Citations for a while
kek
chek't