greenbooks · November 24, 1969
Greenbook/Tealbook
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CONFIDENTIAL (FR)
SUPPLEMENT
CURRENT ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CONDITIONS
Prepared for the
Federal Open Market Committee
By the Staff
Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System
November 21, 1969
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTES
The Domestic Economy
Consumer prices.
In October consumer prices rose 0.4 per
cent or at an annual rate of 5 per cent, about the same as in the third
However, except for a
quarter but somewhat slower than in September.
special downward adjustment in costs of medical care, the rise would
have been about the same as in September.
The CPI was 5.6 per cent
above October 1968.
Food prices dropped seasonally--for the first time since
February--as prices of food consumed at home reflected a decline in
meat prices.
Apparel and upkeep costs continued to advance strongly,
even after seasonal adjustment.
The cost of both food and apparel was
over 5 per cent higher in October than in the same period of 1968.
Durable commodity prices rose sharply in October reflecting
the introduction of 1970 model autos and a large rise in the price of
The rise in new car prices of about 4.7 per cent unadjusted, or about
homes.
0.4 per cent seasonally adjusted, was not too different than in
1968.
1967 and
Used car prices also rose, but somewhat less sharply.
The rise in service costs in October was held to 0.3 per cent
as a result of a decline of 0.6 per cent in medical care services, which
have risen over 7 per cent in the last year.
The decline reflects an
accounting adjustment to correct an overstatement of the rise in costs
in 1968.
The adjustment is made once a year when information from major
health insurance carriers is analyzed.
Other service costs continued to
increase sharply, led by a rise of 0.9 per cent in finance and insurance
costs.
- 2 -
In November and December new car prices will rise less and
used car prices will decline if the usual seasonal pattern prevails.
Retail food prices are not expected to change greatly for the rest of
the year.
CONSUMER PRICES
(Per cent change at annual rates)
Dec.
Mar.
1969
June-
Oct. 1968Oct. 1969
MarchJune
September
6.0
6.4
5.2
4.8
5.6
8.8
3.6
8.0
14.4
10.8
2.0
7.6
6.8
10.4
8.0
-.4
16.8
2.4
3.6
10.8
-7.2
4.3
4.9
7.2
11.5
7.4
0
6.0
5.2
5.3
All items
Durables
Nondurables
Services
Insurance & financeMedical care
19681969
Seasonally adjusted
Food
Apparel & upkeep
4.0
5.2
8.8
5.2
5.6
7.6
11.6
7.2
5.2
4.8
SeptemberOctober
-1/ Includes mortgage interest, taxes and insurance, automobile insurance, and
other auto expenses.
Durable new orders.
New orders for durable goods dipped by
1.2 per cent in October following a sharp increase in September, according to the advance report.
Order backlogs also fell, while shipments
rose slightly and the ratio of unfilled orders to shipments declined
slightly further.
New orders for machinery and equipment were off by a tenth,
but remain at relatively advanced levels.
The greatest declines were
at the industry groups which had increased most in September.
Declines
-3-
in machinery and equipment and in the motor vehicle group were partly
offset by a rebound in orders in the volatile defense group; on balance,
however, defense orders are still at reduced levels compared with those
prevailing from mid-1968 through early 1969.
Orders for consumer dur-
ables other than autos dropped slightly, as did orders for iron and
steel, while there were moderate increases for primary nonferrous and
fabricated metals.
Cyclical indicators.
Of the 8 leading cyclical indicators
used in the calculation of the preliminary Census composite, enough are
now available to suggest a decline in October.
Series declining were
the manufacturing workweek, inverted initial claims for unemployment
insurance, industrial materials prices, housing permits, new orders for
durable goods, and machinery and equipment orders--the last being a
major component of plant and equipment contracts and orders.
Series
rising included the common stock price index and the ratio of price to
unit labor cost.
Rental vacancy rates in the third quarter of the year
(confidential) were the lowest for any third quarter in the history of
the quarterly series which began in 1956.
Underscoring the strength
of basic shelter demands in relation to the available supply, vacancy
rates for homes also remained unusually low, as shown in the table.
-4
-
HOUSING VACANCY RATES
(Per cent)
1957
Rental units
Average for third quarter of: *
1965
1966
1967
1968
5.2
19691
7.2
6.8
6.4
5.4
5.0
Northeast
North Central
South
West
3.3
5.4
6.0
7.1
4.6
6.4
7.9
10.8
4.9
5.8
7.1
10.2
4.3
5.6
7.8
8.1
3.4
5.4
6.8
6.2
2.8
5.5
Home-owner units
0.8
1.5
1.3
1.3
1.1
1.0
Northeast
North Central
South
West
0.6
0.7
0.9
1.3
0.8
1.2
1.9
2.0
0.8
0.9
1.6
2.3
0.6
1.0
1.6
2.0
0.7
0.9
1.4
1.4
0.7
0.9
1.1
1.2
1/
6.3
5.8
Confidential until release, November 24.
The Domestic Financial Situation
Mortgage market.
Based on data which has just become avail-
able, seasonally adjusted new mortgage commitments at all savings and
loan associations apparently declined 2 per cent during October, in
line with the particularly poor savings flow experience.
The backlog
of outstanding commitments, although still rather high, edged lower for
the sixth consecutive month.
In anticipation of possible severe with-
drawals in the upcoming January reinvestment period, and combined with
the current depressed savings flow pattern, the S&Ls could be expected
to pursue a cautious commitment policy during the remainder of the year.
Corporate and municipal bond markets.
Corporate and
municipal bond yields continued to advance this week.
Yields on new
corporate bonds rose sharply to new peaks; the largest issue of the
-5
-
week, a high quality bond yielding 8.90 per cent, attracted substantial
institutional interest and sold out, generating some investor interest
in older, slow-moving offerings.
A heavy calendar of new municipal
issues contributed to the 19 basis point rise--to 6.36 per cent--in the
Bond Buyer Index.
Government securities marke t .
Yields in all sectors of the
U.S. Government securities market have continued to rise since Monday.
Most Treasury bill rates have gained another 25 to 50 basis points,
putting all of the key issues at new record highs, with the 3-month
bill closing yesterday at 7.35 per cent.
Notes and bonds have advanced
generally 15 to 25 basis points since Monday.
Intermediate issues
still remain considerably below their October 1 peaks.
long-term bonds have surpassed their previous highs.
However, some
The 20-year
constant maturity series, for instance, reached 6.90 per cent, 9
basis points above its October 1 level.
The very sharp increases in the bill area reflect concern
over the large prospective increase in supply from three auctions
beginning today on three consecutive trading days totaling $7 billion,
including $2.5 billion of new money.
The market's nervousness is
heightened by the fact that demand for bills (apart from official
account buying) has been light, while dealer bill positions are still
relatively large.
Moreover, dealers will have less time to dispose
of new bill awards just after the auctions because of the shortened
holiday week.
- 6KEY INTEREST RATES
1969
Lows
Highs
October 27
November 20
Short-Term Rates
Federal funds (weekly averages) 5.95 (1/1)
9.68 (10/15)
8.68 (10/22)
8.79 (11/19)
5.87 (4/30) 7.35 (11/20)
6.38 (2/17)
8.50 (7/9)
7.06 (1/22) 12.50 (6/10)
6.03 (3/28)
8.39 (11/20)
6.13 (3/11)
8.25 (7/30)
6.99
8.00
9.63
7.52 (10/22)
8.00
7.35
8.13
10.71
8.39
8.13
6.00
6.00
8.70 (7/23)
6.00
8.50 (10/22)
6.00
8.50
7,87 (11/20)
8.62 (7/9)
8.88 (10/8)
8.58 (11/20)
7.23
8.13
8.38
7.80 (10/22)
7.87
8.25
8.63
8.58
6.50 (1/30)
6.25
9.00 (7/23)
6.25
8.75 (10/22)
6.25
8.75
5.86 (1/16)
3.90 (1/2)
7.69 (11/20)
5.85 (9/17)
7.10
5.45 (10/22)
5.45
6.11 (1/20)
5.91 (6/5)
8.04 (10/1)
7.28
6.48
7.72
6.90
3-months
Treasury bills (bid)
Bankers' acceptances
Euro-dollars
Federal agencies
Finance paper
CD's (prime NYC)
Highest quoted new issue
Secondary market
6-months
Treasury bills (bid)
Bankers' acceptances
Commercial paper
Federal agencies
CD's (prime NYC)
Highest quoted new issue
Secondary market
1-year
Treasury bills (bid)
Prime municipals
6.40
(4/30)
5.96
6.50
6.25
6.32
(2/17)
(1/7)
(4/30)
(1/16)
6.25
7.69
Intermediate and Long-Term
Treasury coupon issues
5-years
20-years
Corporate
Seasoned Aaa
Baa
New Issue Aaa
Ho call protection
Call protection
6.90 (11/20)
6.56 (1/2)
7.26 (2/3)
8.28 (10/14)
7.27
8.17
7.37
8.27
7.03 (1/23)
6.90 (2/20)
7.80 (6/18)
8.44 (11/19)
7.82 (10/22)
8.44
Municipal
Bond Buyer Index
Moody's Aaa
4.82 (1/23)
4.57 (1/2)
6.37 (9/4)
5.95 (11/20)
6.07 (10/22)
6.36
5.80 (10/22)
5.95
Mortgage--implicit yield
in FNMA weekly auction 1/
7.66 (1/6)
8.63 (10/20)
8.60
8.51 (11/17)
7.41 (10/14)
1/ Yield on 6-month forward commitment after allowance for commitment fee and
required purchase and holding of FNMA stock. Assumes discount on 30-year loan
amortized over 15 years.
- 7 -
Flow of funds, third quarter.
Total credit flows to private
nonfinancial borrowers--all except the Federal Government--finally
tipped downward in the third quarter after a strong first-half rate of
borrowing that marked the peak of a 2-1/2 year expansion in funds raised.
The drop in the private total--from a $102 billion annual rate, seasonally adjusted, in the first half of the year to a $86 billion rate in
the summer--occurred in all sectors and in both long- and short-term
credit markets (Table 1).
The sharpest reductions were in state and
local government security issues and bank loans.
Short-term credit
from nonbank sources, particularly loans held by bank affiliates, was
well above the first-half rate but not sufficiently increased to offset
the cutback in bank loan flows.
Mortgage borrowing was only slightly
down from the first half.
Table 1
NET FUNDS RAISED
(In billions of dollars, seasonally adjusted annual rates)
1966
1967
1968
H1/69
QIII/69
Total funds raised
U.S. Government
68.5
3.5
82.6
13.0
97.4
13.4
92.5
-9.6
100.9
15.1
All other borrowers
State & local gov't, securities
Corporate & foreign securities
Mortgages
64.9
5.7
11.9
22.3
69.6
7.7
18.2
22.0
84.1
9.9
13.3
27.3
102.1
11.5
16.4
28.1
85.8
6.8
14.1
27.2
10.3
14.7
9.6
12.0
13.4
20.2
16.5
29.6
5.8
31.8
Bank loans n.e.c.
Other
-8-
For corporate business the $5 billion reduction in credit
flow from the first half contrasted sharply with a $4-1/2 billion
increase in
capital spending,
bringing a major shift toward internal
resources during the quarter.
(Table 2)
With corporate profits down
somewhat from first-half rates, this increased internal financing
appears, from preliminary estimates, to have been mainly in the form of
a reduction in liquid asset holdings during the quarter (line 4).
An
actual drop in business liquid-asset holdings, after seasonal adjustment,
is fairly rare in the 1960's and over the postwar period was associated
generally with slow-downs in economic activity.
the summer of 1966 and in
early 1967,
Reductions occurred in
and before that during all
quarters
Table 2
(In
CORPORATE BUSINESS
billions of dollars, seasonally adjusted annual rates)
1966
1967
1968
H1/69
QIII/69
1.
2.
Retained funds
Capital expenditures
61.2
77.1
61.2
72.5
63.1
76.9
63.3
85.2
63.4
89.7
3.
Credit market borrowing
25.4
29.3
31.0
41.2
36.2
4.
5.
Net change in liquid assets
Other financial uses, net
1.9
7.6
.6
17.4
10.1
7.1
4.9
14.4
-6.1
16.0
of 1960.
1956 and during
In the 1950's liquid assets fell sharply in
the 1957-58 recession, although to some extent this reflected decreases
If
liquid assets did
in
tax liabilities through payment acceleration.
in
fact decrease during the summer (direct evidence is
not yet in)
it
- 9-
may have brought the actual liquidity ratios to new postwar lows.
In
relation both to short-term liabilities and to the rate of business
activity, corporate liquidity seems to have dropped to and perhaps gone
below the troughs of late 1966.
These ratios had held roughly
even
during 1967 and 1968, and the ratios were maintained fairly well during
the first half of this year.
Liquid-asset reductions by business were heavily concentrated
in CD runoffs and in U.S. Government securities, with sizable offsets
in purchases of both commercial paper and short-term municipal issues.
This left the U.S. Government securities market heavily dependent on
households and on state and local government funds for support.
The
present estimates for household buying of Governments during the summer
are extremely high, offsetting both decreases in bank time deposit
balances and sharply reduced flows into savings institutions. Through
direct purchases, households may have been the only sizable net source
of funds to the Governments market during the summer, and the effect
has been to elevate
measurably the position of Governments in household
portfolios.
Financial disintermediation has been severe this year by any
basis of comparison, despite heavy volumes of direct credit market
borrowing by financial institutions to offset deposit drains.
In Table
4, line 2 and line 12 suggest the extent to which lending based on
deposits, insurance reserves, and net internal funds has fallen off
during 1969, while line 7 totals the use of open-market borrowing by
financial institutions during the period.
Total lending by finance, on
- 10 -
lines 3 and 13, is down markedly from even 1966 in relation to credit
demands, with third-quarter decreases concentrated in banks and savings
institutions.
The sharp rise in third-quarter lending by other finance
(line 6) is dominated (1) by FNMA and home loan bank lending, which were
in turn financed by borrowing on line 9, and (2) by finance company and
bank affiliate credit to business covered mainly by commercial paper
sales in line 11.
This shift in the third quarter from banks and savings
institutions to open-market finance borrowers maintained total intermediary lending at first-half rates, but did not increase intermediation
to anything near the levels of recent years.
Some of this activity,
moreover, was lending among intermediaries, such as from home loan banks
to savings and loan associations, that raised the aggregate flows more
than the net supply of funds to nonfinancial borrowers.
After allowance
for such inflation of the totals, intermediary activity was somewhat
lower in the third quarter than earlier in the year.
Apart from erratically high Federal Government borrowing and
offsetting buildup in Government cash balances, the third-quarter evidence
is of a significant constriction in credit flows and of business liquidity
in the face of rising financing needs, with the funds supplied predominantly by nonfinancial investors buying securities in open markets
(Table 3, line 4).
Business liquidity shifted in form toward short-term
claims on private borrowers and state and local governments, while household assets were shifted toward Governments and credit agencies supporting
the mortgage market.
11
Table 3
SOURCES OF CREDIT MARKET FUNDS
(Billions of dollars, Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rates)
QIII/69
1966
1967
1968
H1/69
Total funds raised and advanced
(= lines 1 + 7)
68.5
82.6
97.4
92.5
100.9
Private domestic nonfinancial
Investors:
2.
Total deposits and securities
3.
Deposits a/
42.8
23.7
47.7
50.6
58.1
44.3
50.4
7.7
37.5
-16.9
19.1
3.6
3.4
12.1
-3.0
*
1.2
-4.2
13.8
9.0
.7
4.1
42.7
18.5
8.1
16.0
54.4
10.3
4.5
39.6
25.7
- .4
.7
25.4
34.9
1.2
5.0
28.7
39.3
-1.2
4.0
36.5
42.1
-7.4
13.4
36.1
63.4
14.8
12.7
35.9
1.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
a/
b/
Credit market instruments b/
Business
State & local govts.
Households
Credit sources except line 1:
U.S. Govt. cash balances
Foreign
Other
At banks and savings institutions. Includes currency.
Includes credit market claims on financial institutions.
-
12 -
Table 4
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION
(Billions of dollars, Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rates)
1.
([3]
-
[6])
4.
5.
6.
Total funds advanced by
financial institutions
Banks
Savings institutions
Other
7.
Credit market borrowing by
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
1968
H1/69
QIII/69
68.5
82.6
97.4
92.5
100.9
43.7
78.0
74.1
30.7
27.3
58.5
16.8
7.9
33.8
81.7
37.0
15.2
29.5
93.0
39.2
15.5
38.3
62.7
10.3
19.5
33.0
66.1
- .2
10.8
55.5
14.8
2.8
3.7
.4
18.9
2.0
32.0
13.7
38.8
6.2
4.8
.1
7.1
- .6
-1.7
5.6
3.5
1.1
12.3
6.3
3.3
8.7
12.3
4.4
15.9
Net funds advanced by financial
institutions
3.
1967
Total funds raised by
nonfirnancial sectors
2.
1966
financial institutions a/
Banks b/
Sponsored credit agencies
Svgs. & loan associations
Other finance c/
Percentage ratios:
Net lending/total funds raised
([2]/[1])
Total lending/total funds
64%
94%
76%
33%
27%
raised ([3]/[11)
Borrowings/Total lending by
finance ([6]/[3])
85%
99%
95%
67%
66%
25%
5%
20%
51%
59%
Plus bank borrowings from foreign branches.
Excludes bank affiliates not consolidated in bank reports. See note a.
Finance companies, nonconsolidated bank affiliates, security dealers,
and investment companies.
Corrections:
Page II - 17, line 2:
Page III - 22.
November 14.
"million" should read "months'".
The last column in the table should be
CONFIDENTIAL (FR)
SUPPLEMENTAL APPENDIX A:
SURVEY OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
THIRD QUARTER,
BORROWING REALIZATIONS:
1969*
Preliminary analysis of the experimental survey of State and
local government borrowing realizations for the third quarter of 1969
indicates that these governments experienced at least a $1.67 billion
shortfall in long-term borrowing attributable to high interest rates.
This equaled about three-fourths of the $2.2 billion of borrowing they
actually accomplished.- /
Capital outlay and contract award cutbacks
as a consequence of these shortfalls, estimated from the sample, will
This is equal to 7 to 9 per cent
range between $600 and $750 million.
of the actual second quarter total of $8 billion of State and local
capital expenditures.
Additional analysis is required to update the borrowing
expectations of the entire sample.
Nonetheless, it appears that State
and local governments would like to borrow $5.0 to $5.8 billion in the
fourth quarter of this year.
Borrowing Shortfalls
Table 1 gives a breakdown by type of governmental unit of
the long-term borrowing State and local governments accomplished and
of the shortfalls induced by high interest rates.
Only those shortfalls
1/ Long-term bond sales for the third quarter of 1969 amounted to
$2.43 billion, while the estimates for total borrowing based on the
survey sample, are $2.20 billion. Evidently the blown-up survey results
reported herein captured only 90.5 per cent of the borrowing actually
accomplished. No attempt has yet been made to correct for this discrepancy. Of the 594 units included in the quarterly survey, all but
8 responded, for a response rate of 98 per cent.
*
Prepared by John E. Petersen, Economist, Capital Markets Section,
currently on leave to the Urban Institute.
CONFIDENTIAL
SA - 2
(FR)
attributable to high borrowing costs are analyzed in this appendix,
even though perhaps as much as $1 billion of additional shortfalls were
due to other factors.
Some of these other factors may have been partly
related to the level of interest rates.
Thus,
the estimates for
interest rate effects on borrowing--and on spending--may be understated.
Table 1
LONG-TERM BORROWING AND SHORTFALLSINDUCED BY HIGH INTEREST RATES
3rd Quarter 1969, Millions of Dollars
Type
of unit
(1) Actual
Borrowing
(2) Shortfalls induced
by high interest rates-
(2)/(1)
Ratio
State-2 /
622
638
1.04
County
201
111
.55
City & town
773
371
.48
Special Dist.
152
70
.46
School Dist.
450
479
1.06
$2,199
$1,669
.76
Total
1/ Includes postponements, abandonments, and reductions in issues.
2/ Includes State authorities and colleges.
Altogether,
high interest rates in the third quarter
2/
forstalled an estimated $1.67 billion in desired long-term borrowing.While all units of government experienced severe cutbacks below planned
borrowing,
State governments and school districts fared worst.
For the
State category, the primary reason for the large cutback in borrowing
2/ The amount of long-term borrowing shortage which had high interest
rates as at least a contributing factor was $1.82 billion. When multiple
reasons for shortfalls were given, the amount of the shortfalls was
distributed proportionately among them. The same device was used in
allocating the spending impacts.
SA - 3
CONFIDENTIAL (FR)
apparently was rate ceilings in several large, traditionally high
borrowing, States.
For school districts, rate ceilings were also
important, but in addition many school districts are of small unit
size, are not rated by bond rating services, and have great difficulty
marketing bonds in tight financial markets.
For both States and school
districts, borrowing shortfalls exceeded the long-term borrowing actually
accomplished by them in the third quarter.
Effects on Capital Spending
Table 2 shows the effect on spending plans of the
borrowing shortfalls induced by high interest rates.
Such borrowing
disappointments are apparently resulting in a $600 to $750 million
3/
reduction in State and local spending below planned levels.-
The
impacts again appear to be heaviest for State governments and school
districts.
The ratio of aggregate spending reduction to total borrow-
ing shortfalls attributed to the high cost of borrowing is approximately
40 per cent, twice the rate found in the System's survey on the 1966
borrowing and spending experiences of these governments.
3/ The expenditure impacts have been estimated as a range because 12
of the 68 units reporting capital spending impacts did not estimate the
amount of the reduction. In these cases, the amount of the borrowing
shortfalls has been used as a proxy for the spending reduction. Thus,
the reduction amounts explicitly given by units form the bottom of the
range whereas addition of the proxied amounts gives the upper limit.
CONFIDENTIAL
(FR)
SA -
4
Table 2
CAPITAL SPENDING AND CONTRACT AWARD CUTBACKS
INDUCED BY HIGH INTEREST RATE
3rd Quarter, 1969
Type of unit
State
Contract and
spending cutbacks(Millions of dollars)
Ratio of cutbacks to
borrowing shortfalls
(Per cent) 2/
229 to 312
47 to
County
City & town
Special Dist.
School Dist.
Total
36 to 49
43
48
109 to 131
29 to 35
10
14
214 to 264
45 to 55
609 to 755
38 to 45
1/ Upper limit of range is given by addition of proxy amounts of spending reduction where units indicated spending cutbacks but failed to
give a dollar estimate.
2/ Long-term borrowing shortfalls induced by high interests are given
in Table 1.
The estimated expenditure effects will take time to be felt
fully, because of the lags inherent in the construction process.
Nevertheless, on an annual rate basis, they suggest a $2.4 to $3.0
billion reduction in capital spending below planned levels.
Capital
expenditures were at a $32 billion annual rate at midyear 1969 and have
been growing on the order of 10 per cent a year recently.
It appears,
therefore, that the restrictive credit conditions experienced this year
could erase most of the "normal" growth in these expenditures in the
near future.
CONFIDENTIAL (FR)
SA - 5
Alternative Means of Financing Shortfalls
A total of $772 million in long-term borrowing shortfalls
attributed to high interest rates did not lead to spending reductions.
As is shown in Table 3, short-term borrowing was overwhelmingly the
major stopgap employed to keep expenditure plans on schedule.
Drawing
down of liquid assets was of very little importance, as were reductions
in other expenditures.
About 18 per cent of the dollar volume of the
shortfalls did not lead to spending effects because the borrowing was
planned well in advance of cash needs.
Table 3
ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF FINANCING
SHORTFALLS DUE TO HIGH INTEREST RATES
3rd Quarter, 1969
Means
Short-term borrowing
Liquid assets
Reductions in current
expenditures
No immediate need
Other means
Total
Note:
Millions
or aoiiars
Per cent
._.
or total
464
64
60
8
9
1
128
18
63
9
722
100
Items do not add to totals due to rounding.
The relative importance of these various means of alternatively financing shortfalls contrasts markedly with those used by
State and local governments in 1966 when expenditure effects were much
SA - 6
CONFIDENTIAL (FR)
4/
milder.-
Use of liquid assets and borrowing in advance of needs,
were very important in 1966.
The greatly diminished importance of
these alternatives to long-term borrowing reflect the debilitating
impacts of prolonged restrictive credit market conditions on the
sector's financial holdings.
The depletion of these buffers probably
accounts in part for the more severe spending impacts now being experienced.
As units borrow
less--and closer to cash needs--their asset
position, and the insulation it provides, progressively shrinks.
Funds
are no longer on hand to bridge the borrowing-expenditure gap as they
did in 1966.
Revisions of Borrowing Expectations
The amount of long-term borrowing anticipated by respondents
should be interpreted as a desired amount that could be accomplished
if conditions permit.
Obviously, factors other than adverse interest
rate developments are going to displace intended borrowings.
Only time
and intensive examination of all the reasons for shortfalls will establish those patterns which bias expectations.
Nevertheless, first approximations of the potential demand
can be extracted from combining the results of the annual and follow-up
surveys.
Allowing for revised plans and for what may prove to be some
upward bias in earlier reporting of anticipations, it is estimated that
4/ The System's 1966 survey indicated that short-term borrowing
accounted for about 45 per cent of those shortfalls not leading to
capital spending cutbacks; liquid assets, 25 per cent; and borrowing
planned in advance of cash needs, 30 per cent. Other sources--including
cuts in current expenditures--constituted the remaining 5 per cent of
borrowing shortfalls not leading to capital spending cutbacks.
CONFIDENTIAL (FR)
SA -
7
desired long-term borrowing is $5.8 billion for the fourth quarter of
5/ That is,
$5.8 billion is the amount that could be brought to
1969.-
market were "everything else" to be completed on time.
Since under
even the most favorable conditions they could not be, $5 billion of
planned long-term borrowing in the fourth quarter is probably more
realistic.
5/ This allows for a 50 per cent attrition rate in not yet authorized
borrowing. Discussion with survey field officers and very summary
inspections of data, indicate that units that simply misunderstood the
survey may have overreported anticipated third quarter borrowing by as
much as $0.5 to $1 billion. This would be long-term borrowing that
could not have been accomplished in any event.
Cite this document
APA
Federal Reserve (1969, November 24). Greenbook/Tealbook. Greenbooks, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/greenbook_19691125_part1
BibTeX
@misc{wtfs_greenbook_19691125_part1,
author = {Federal Reserve},
title = {Greenbook/Tealbook},
year = {1969},
month = {Nov},
howpublished = {Greenbooks, Federal Reserve},
url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/greenbook_19691125_part1},
note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}