Treasuries little changed

US Treasuries prices were little changed on Thursday as traders were sceptical about the ability of eurozone leaders to come up with a plan to solve the region's debt crisis during a summit this weekend. Reports that France and Germany remained deeply divided on how to boost the European bailout fund initially sent investors out of stocks and into safe-haven US government bonds.
Investors' aversion to risk grew further after German newspaper Die Welt said Berlin did not rule out the possibility of postponing the summit. But prices slipped after Paris and Berlin issued a joint statement confirming the meeting this weekend and promising an "ambitious response" to the crisis for Wednesday at the latest.
"It's been very difficult to follow. There have been several headlines from several sources throughout the day, either indicating that the summit is going to happen or that it's not going to happen," said Tom Simons, money market economist with Jefferies & Co in New York. Some market participants still expect some sort of agreement to be reached this weekend, but one without true substance.
"European leaders could come up with a broad framework at the summit but sorely lacking in details," said Paul Dietrich, chairman and chief investment officer at Foxhall Capital Management in Orange, Connecticut. Dietrich said 90 percent of the $800 million fund he runs is in short-term Treasuries, a strategy that is a hedge against any turmoil that may result if the EU summit disappoints.
Benchmark 10-year notes fell 7/32 point in price to yield 2.18 percent, while 30-year bonds were down 15/32 to yield 3.2 percent. Concerns about the impact of the eurozone crisis on the global economy have dominated trading in the past few days, overshadowing some better-than-expected US economic data. Adding to signs that the US economy is likely to duck recession, factory activity in the US mid-Atlantic region rebounded in October while the number of Americans claiming jobless benefits fell last week.