Major Selloff Feared Besides trying to thwart inflation, the Fed is also trying to keep Treasury bills and bonds attractive to foreign investors, particularly the Japanese, experts said.

The short supply of new issues has generally kept municipal bonds from falling less than Treasury securities.

But so far foreigners' desire to keep the dollar from tumbling - and hurting their own economies - has led them to keep buying bonds.

He and Minmei were not close by blood, although their families had kept close bonds due to friendships and shared business investments in the White Dragon and Golden Dragon restaurants.

The chief question keeping bonds under a tight rein has been whether the economy is too strong and unemployment too low for inflation to remain at bay for long.

A In almost all cases, it does not pay to keep tax-exempt municipal bonds in an individual retirement account because an I.R.A. is a vehicle for tax-deferment.

While farm animals are widely seen as property, companion animals are perceived as family members with whom humans keep close bonds and develop strong emotional relationships.

If the ECB had not stepped in to keep Italian bonds below the 7% notional threshold of unsustainability then Italy would not get away it's auction later today.

Generally, he keeps bonds until they come due, disregarding the odd occasion when his formula suggests buying stocks to rebalance.

Other factors keeping bonds on a solid footing included continued bullish sentiment, along with a buy-on-the-dip mentality, which kept profit taking to a minimum.