Norway's sovereign wealth fund plans major U.S. Treasury sell-off

The world's largest sovereign wealth fund, Norway's Government Pension Fund Global, has proposed to slash its holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds by nearly 80 billion U.S. dollars amid growing global unease over America's ballooning debt.

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the fund, made the recommendation in a letter to Norway's Ministry of Finance on Sept. 4, proposing to reduce the share of government bonds in the fund's fixed-income portfolio from 70 percent to 50 percent, with U.S. Treasuries among the primary targets of the reduction.

The fund currently holds approximately 215 billion dollars in U.S. Treasuries, according to reports. Under the proposal, the allocation to U.S. debt would be cut from 34.1 percent to 21.9 percent of the fixed-income portfolio. The sovereign wealth fund manages total assets of about 2.34 trillion U.S. dollars.

The proposed reduction comes as other major economies have also been trimming their U.S. Treasury holdings. Japan and the United Kingdom sold 26.4 billion dollars and 8.7 billion dollars respectively in June, according to the latest U.S. Treasury data. Turkey effectively liquidated its entire U.S. Treasury holdings in March, while the Netherlands' ABP, one of Europe's largest pension funds, reduced its U.S. bond allocation in the first quarter of this year.

The sell-offs signal growing unease over America's fiscal trajectory. In August, total U.S. federal government debt surpassed 40 trillion dollars for the first time in history, nearly 10 trillion dollars more than the country's GDP last year.

To ease bond market pressure, the U.S. Treasury recently launched long-term bond repurchases aimed at stabilizing yields. But market analysts say the move does little to address the underlying debt problem and may even further erode long-term confidence among overseas investors.

"The new debt is being added to the already existing debt. At the same time, there are no signs that the U.S. government is planning to cut its fiscal deficit. This means U.S. government debt will keep growing. At some point, the situation will become unsustainable," said Fabian Lindner, professor of international economics at Berlin University of Applied Sciences for Engineering and Economics.

Norway's sovereign wealth fund plans major U.S. Treasury sell-off

A quake-damaged primary school in Maru Township, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, has set up more than 30 tents on the playground to serve as temporary shelters for the teaching staff and their families.

The 7.0-magnitude quake struck Baqen County of Nagqu City at 22:33 Beijing time (1433 GMT) on Thursday.

Maru Township was among the areas hit hardest by the quake. The township's only primary school, Maru Township Primary School, was damaged heavily.

Two teaching buildings showed varying degrees of destruction, including visible wall cracks, shattered windows, and some structural collapses. The dormitories for the teaching staff and the students were also affected. Fortunately, all the students and teachers were safely evacuated.

Many of the students were sleeping in their dormitories when the quake occurred. Following the earthquake, the teachers immediately evacuated the students to safety.

"We went to the dormitories right away. Some students were still sleeping, so we woke them up and got them out," a teacher said.

While some teachers were injured in the quake, no students were hurt.

The school's sports field has now been converted into a centralized shelter, where over 30 thick, cotton tents have been set up for the teaching staff, their families, and logistics workers.

Supplies inside the tents are plentiful, including thick quilts, food, snacks, and local specialty tea. Power was restored the day after the earthquake, and logistics staff are ensuring three meals a day for everyone.

One child living in the shelter said six people share a tent, and the quilts distributed to them are quite thick.

"It feels like home because my family is here, and I have my meals here in the morning, at noon, and in the evening," the child said.

Since the winter vacation has not yet begun, the school is actively working out a plan to address the students' schooling, including online teaching or transferring students to nearby safe schools.

To cope with the winter cold, the school has applied to local authorities for prefabricated housing units, which are expected to arrive in the next two days. These units will replace the tents and serve as temporary classrooms.

Quake-damaged school in Xizang sets up tents on playground to shelter teaching staff, their families