Total Outstanding US Treasury Debt = ??

[DcifrThs]

I just read this in bloomberg and think maybe i've lost my mind ...

[ QUOTE ]
The supply of bills, which peaked in March 2005 at $1.06 trillion, fell to $892.1 billion at the end of July. Bills account for about 21 percent of the Treasury's $4.37 trillion of debt outstanding, the smallest share since October 2000.

[/ QUOTE ]

i thought the outstanding treasury debt was double that. don't we have nearly 9trillion in outstanding debt?

if it isn't treasury debt, what other debt makes up that 5tril?

Barron

[ahnuld]

wiki FTW!

"The Bureau of the Public Debt divides the national debt into two main categories: debt held by the public, and intragovernmental holdings (debt that the government has essentially lent to itself). Intragovernmental debt includes money for government trust funds, such as pension plans and the debt for social security. Overall, intragovernmental holdings account for over $3.79 trillion of the total debt at this time.

The remaining $5.04 trillion or so has been purchased by the public, including foreign entities. This largely comes from the issuance of U.S. Treasury securities. Nearly half ($2.4 trillion) is composed of Treasury notes (aka T-notes), while T-bills and T-bonds (including savings bonds) cover most of the remaining public portion of the debt. Bonds sold for infrastructure projects are also part of the national debt.

It is common for individual Americans and businesses to buy bonds and other securities, though much of the debt is now held overseas. At the end of 2006, foreign holdings of Treasury debt were $2.223 trillion, which was 44% of the total debt held by the public. Foreign central banks owned 64% of the Federal debt held by foreign residents; private investors owned nearly all the rest (figures are from the Analytical Perspectives of the 2006 U.S. Budget, page 257 and the U.S. Treasury website).

The country holding the second most U.S. debt is Japan which held $612.3 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2007. The People's Republic of China holds the most U.S. debt, ending the first quarter of 2007 with over $1.2 trillion in total foreign reserves, of which about $420.2 billion are U.S. Treasury securities.[4] [5]"

[DcifrThs]

[ QUOTE ]
wiki FTW!

"The Bureau of the Public Debt divides the national debt into two main categories: debt held by the public, and intragovernmental holdings (debt that the government has essentially lent to itself). Intragovernmental debt includes money for government trust funds, such as pension plans and the debt for social security. Overall, intragovernmental holdings account for over $3.79 trillion of the total debt at this time.

The remaining $5.04 trillion or so has been purchased by the public, including foreign entities. This largely comes from the issuance of U.S. Treasury securities. Nearly half ($2.4 trillion) is composed of Treasury notes (aka T-notes), while T-bills and T-bonds (including savings bonds) cover most of the remaining public portion of the debt. Bonds sold for infrastructure projects are also part of the national debt.

It is common for individual Americans and businesses to buy bonds and other securities, though much of the debt is now held overseas. At the end of 2006, foreign holdings of Treasury debt were $2.223 trillion, which was 44% of the total debt held by the public. Foreign central banks owned 64% of the Federal debt held by foreign residents; private investors owned nearly all the rest (figures are from the Analytical Perspectives of the 2006 U.S. Budget, page 257 and the U.S. Treasury website).

The country holding the second most U.S. debt is Japan which held $612.3 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2007. The People's Republic of China holds the most U.S. debt, ending the first quarter of 2007 with over $1.2 trillion in total foreign reserves, of which about $420.2 billion are U.S. Treasury securities.[4] [5]"

[/ QUOTE ]

...interesting. so what is the remaining $1.2trillion - $420.2 billion in if it isn't in US treasury securities? what else does the US government issue in terms of debt and how is japan's >600billion less than 420billion from chinese reserves if the US treasury securities aren't the remaining 1.2trillion-420billion?

Barron

[NajdorfDefense]

Barron, I honestly feel you don't even do the minimal level of reading required to understand the markets if you don't know basic facts. 4.37 out of 5.04 leaves 650bn.

The Feds also issue GNMAs which are guaranteed, [FNMAs aren't], SLGs, TVAs and other infrastructure bonds as listed above, and etc.

[DcifrThs]

[ QUOTE ]
Barron, I honestly feel you don't even do the minimal level of reading required to understand the markets if you don't know basic facts. 4.37 out of 5.04 leaves 650bn.

[/ QUOTE ]

i didn't udnerstand the basic facts here which is why i asked.

[ QUOTE ]
The Feds also issue GNMAs which are guaranteed, [FNMAs aren't], SLGs, TVAs and other infrastructure bonds as listed above, and etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

i clearly neglected all of the guarantees and other debt vehicles the govt. issues.

thanks,
Barron

[NajdorfDefense]

Fair enough, I guess my point is if you read about this stuff every day your will build your foundation and be able to go onto more complex topics than $5.37tn = UST + GNMA + SLGs +TVAs + etc.

Not a bust, just some friendly advice. Read as much as possible.