The government reported that net holdings of long-term securities, which includes the
debt of U.S. companies as well as government
debt, rose $140 billion in March, the largest one-month gain on record. It surpassed the old record of $135.8 billion in May 2007.
The big increase was influenced by two factors: a flight to safety by investors increasingly worried about the debt crisis in Europe and a rebounding U.S. economy that has made American corporate debt more attractive to foreigners.