5-6 October 2013 | 92 comments (92 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: World (none / 1)

Beowulf has offered yet a fifth option for getting around the debt ceiling by issuing consols. Consols are debt instruments that pay a fixed rate on interest in perpetuity, but never promise principal repayment at a maturity date. The debt ceiling law is written in such a way that what counts against the ceiling is the principal repayment guaranteed by the instrument. Since consols provide no principal repayment, one can have unlimited consol issuance without increasing the debt-subject-to-the-limit.

Ooh, nice.

In the Neurozone, there can be only one.

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Oct 6th, 2013 at 06:51:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 0)

Not to worry. The nutters would find some other existential threat to use so as to get the language of that debt ceiling law changed so that consuls would count.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Oct 6th, 2013 at 09:23:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

5-6 October 2013 | 92 comments (92 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)