NEW YORK — Further strain in the credit markets Wednesday sent more investors scrambling for Treasury bills amid growing concerns that the government’s bank-bailout plan might encounter obstacles in Congress.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have been insisting over the past two days that lawmakers quickly pass the plan for the government to assume $700 billion in risky debt, but lawmakers continue to express skepticism.
So demand for the 3-month Treasury bill intensified, sending its yield falling to 0.49 percent; that means investors were willing to earn that meager amount after three months in return for its security. The yield was down from 0.79 percent late Tuesday and 0.88 percent late Monday.
