No long term planning for Timmy

The Treasury Department just had a straight-up terrible 30-year bond auction, following two solid debt auctions. These are the first three debt sales of the AA+ era, remember, and all eyes were on these auctions as a test of how investors would react to the downgrade.

Turns out they were OK with shorter-term debt, but 30-year debt might be tougher to swallow.

Treasury had to pay 3.75% for the debt, compared with 3.648% the market expected. That’s a record tail, according to Ian Lyngen at CRT Capital.

The bid/cover ratio was a dismal 2.08, compared with an average of 2.51.

There was some strong direct bidding, but indirect bidding — a proxy for foreign demand — came in at 12.2% of the auction, compared with a normal 40%. That’s the lowest ever, says Mr. Lyngen. Yikes.WSJ

People with money see no long term solution for Congress