The Big Picture - Macro Perspective on the Capital Markets, Economy, Technology, and Digital Media

On a seasonally adjusted basis, commercial paper outstanding rose $43.7b, the largest gain since April and was mostly led by the asset backed category that saw a gain of $41.5b, the most since January and maybe is beginning to respond to some thawing out in that sector due to the Fed’s TALF program. Financial unsecured CP outstanding rose by $12.4b but non financial unsecured CP outstanding fell by $10.2b, the biggest decline since late June. Non financial is the smallest area of the CP market but is one area to watch to see if companies are investing in their businesses. Short term CP is supposed to be used only for operating expenses and/or working capital such as receivables and inventories.