The Chinese aren’t taking any extra default risk buying GNMAs instead of Treasuries. Principal repayment of both is fully guaranteed by the federal government.
I wouldn’t pay attention to his rank… The Chinese know he’s just the delivery man.
I think this is just one more piece of a multi-pronged effort to prop up house prices. Some important people won’t be re-elected, and some financial managers and private investors will get burned, if this effort turns out to be ineffective or half-hearted. They may have more success or less. We’ll just have to see.
