1.   And then with strong hopes for a balanced budget agreement in the United States, people were encouraged to buy longer maturities, he said.

2.   Brune is buying shorter maturities of up to three years because he expects long-term yields to suffer more from rate concerns in the long run.

3.   Buying maturities greater than a year could leave an investor stuck with an instrument paying less than the market rate.

4.   Buy maturities ranging from three months to five years.

5.   In a pass, the Fed buys various maturities in order to add money to the banking system.

6.   Investors as a rule sell the long maturities and buy shorter maturities to get away from market volatility.

7.   That confidence is displayed in the willingness of investors to buy longer maturities.

8.   The one thing underpinning the market, analysts said, was that the Fed was buying various maturities in a technical operation known as a coupon pass.