Today,
without much fanfare,
US debt to GDP hit 101% with the latest issuance of $32 billion in 2 Year Bonds.
If the moment when this ratio went from double to triple digits is still fresh in readers minds,
is because it is: total debt hit and surpassed the most recently revised Q4 GDP on January 30,
or just three weeks ago.
Said otherwise,
it has taken the US
21 days
to add a full percentage point to this most critical of debt sustainability ratios:
but fear not,
with just under $1 trillion in new debt issuance on deck in the next 9 months,
we will be at 110%
in no time.
Still,
this trend made us curious to see who has been buying
( and selling )
US debt over the past year.
The results are somewhat surprising.
As the chart below,
which highlights some of the biggest and most notable holders of US paper,
shows,
in the period December 31, 2010 to December 31, 2011,
there have been two very distinct shifts:
.