Countdown to Shutdown

A Federal government shutdown heightens uncertainty; Moody’s climbs on board, and more in this week’s Beyond the News.

LGIP Investment Strategies Presume A Pace of Slow Monetary Policy Tightening

Local government investment pools extended maturities in recent weeks, anticipating the shift in Federal Reserve monetary policy that reduced the pace of tightening after the sharp run-up in interest rates over the past 18 months. Pool portfolios moved from very short weighted average maturities (WAMs) in the spring and are now positioned for limited moves higher in interest rates in the near term. Meanwhile pool yields have risen to fully reflect current market conditions.

Seems Like Banks Just Can’t Stay Out of the Headlines

Last week Moody’s took ratings action on 27 US banks. This week (so far) the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced that his agency would issue regulations requiring that large regional banks (assets greater than $100 billion) adopt “living wills” to facilitate resolution in the event they become insolvent. And FitchRatings warned that it could downgrade dozens of US banks.

Will Banks Compete for Your Deposits?

Have bankers called you recently? Bank deposits have trended down recently, and money fund assets have risen. Now banks are gearing up to build them back up.