Market conditions seem to be as ambivalent as the weather these days. Last year was marked by uncertainty and turmoil, resulting in volatility that had not been seen since the end of 2008. However, recently stocks and commodities have been rising like crazy over the past seven months, and volatility has been squeezed out of the currency markets and hit new 3-year lows in the S&P 500 Index. 

The Euro fell from its lofty perch last May due to debt and deficit issues with its smaller member states, but versus the Dollar, it seems trapped at the moment in a kind of limbo-land.

The increase in US federal debt as a percentage of GDP and in absolute terms is unprecedented and could therefore be a major risk for long term investors.

In this article we will see how the US federal debt has developed as a percentage of GDP for the last two centuries. We will point out why the growth is unprecedented even when the debt percentage has been higher in the past.

The next article following this one is about what is ahead for the US Dollar.

Foreigners cut Treasury stakes; Rates could rise. This was the article in Yahoo Finance from February 16 based on a press release from the US Treasury that lead me to dive a little more into the foreign holding of US treasury securities. This article shows the historic graphs and my findings, like the chart below.
 

      Foreign holding of US Treasury Securities 2008 - 2009