PMY - Charts, page-588

There is no longer any functional difference between the US Treasury and the Fed. Fed independence is obviously a thing of the past - not due to any conspiratorial machinations but simply because they are now compelled to hold up the dyke. As the US issues a tsunami of debt, someone has to buy it in order to keep rates at the desired level - and that "someone" is the Fed. Japanification has already happened...the Fed cannot raise rates without rendering the Federal debt burden unsustainable (not to mention short-term corporate debt.) Therefore, the only solution short of sovereign default is that the debt be inflated away. That policy has now become quasi-official.