World owes US debt, says Brown

[maximilian ping]

 

[DexterTCN]

Brown's just making the right noises whilst he's in america.

Still hasn't said 'war on terror' though, has he?

 

[4obama2008]

No, the reason nobody is calling in the debt is that they're making lots of money in interest from the US.

My understanding is that the very idea of "calling in" the debt is a misapprehension of the situation. The U.S. sells bonds which are contracts to make payments on a certain fixed schedule. There is no provision within that contract for the purchaser to unilaterally change the repayment schedule. What do you mean when you say "call in"?

 

[TAE]

I think you'll find that should read "World owns US debt."

That what I thought the thread title was !

 

[yield]

My understanding is that the very idea of "calling in" the debt is a misapprehension of the situation. The U.S. sells bonds which are contracts to make payments on a certain fixed schedule. There is no provision within that contract for the purchaser to unilaterally change the repayment schedule. What do you mean when you say "call in"?

I'm uncertain what in particular slaar was talking about but debt can take many forms.
From wiki.

In 2006, the primary economic concerns have centered around: high national debt ($9 trillion), high corporate debt ($9 trillion), high mortgage debt ($9 trillion), high unfunded Medicare liability ($30 trillion), high unfunded Social Security liability ($12 trillion), high external debt (amount owed to foreign lenders) and a serious deterioration in the United States net international investment position (NIIP) (-24% of GDP),[6] high trade deficits, and a rise in illegal immigration.

If a country had large dollar denominated assets, was forced to sell a resource, like oil, in dollars or to buy dollars to keep their exports competitive then "calling in the debt" might be... more political in nature. Since there has been constant depreciation (inflation) of the dollar for competitive advantage.