THE TGA RUN-UP

The 'tourist explains part of the reason for last month's stock decline and takes a stab on the dark side of the oil market

I’m mad at myself.

I have long watched the Treasury General Account (TGA) for mismatches in timing between government spending and borrowing. Usually, when the government writes a cheque, it needs to borrow funds, so Treasury issues either bills, notes or bonds to “fund” that spending. The timing between the borrowing and the spending is usually minimal.…