NEW YORK (Reuters) – Works by Picasso, Matisse, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Cezanne, and the two American women who purchased them in the early part of the 20th century, are the focus of a special exhibit at The Jewish Museum.

“Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore,” which runs until September 25, includes 51 works of art, 10 textiles, 10 decorative art objects, and a large array of documents and photographs.

It offers visitors a rare chance to see works of art and gain insight into the distinct sensibilities of the two women who collected them.

“The Cones had a unique, consistent eye, and a particular taste,” said Karen Levitov, associate curator at The Jewish Museum. “They didn’t just buy whatever they came across.”

Born in the Victorian era, the Cone sisters, Claribel and Etta, became devotees of avant-garde art. In travels across Europe and to Africa and Asia, they acquired textiles and decorative arts, examples of which are in the exhibit.

The sisters’ collections of oils, water colors, drawings, prints, sculptures, rugs and furniture, laces, textiles and fabrics, were an intensely domestic collection at first, but gradually developed into a public patrimony.

At her death, Etta left the entire collection of approximately 3,000 pieces to the Baltimore Museum of Art.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – How investors trade U.S. Treasuries in case of a U.S. credit rating downgrade will depend less on the ratings move itself and more on the long-term inflation outlook, Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategists said on Tuesday.

The Treasury has set August 2 as the date when it will have exhausted all of its emergency measures to avoid default. The Obama Administration and Congress have not yet agreed to raise the $14.3 trillion limit on how much the government can borrow.

Credit rating agencies Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings have all voiced concern over the U.S. debt rating in the absence of a long-term plan to put the country on a long-term sustainable fiscal path.

The AAA credit rating for the world’s largest economy has symbolic value. But Jeffrey Rosenberg, head of global credit strategy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said markets would assess for themselves the U.S. ability to make timely payments on principal and interest.

“The market makes its assessment of price, (of) yield, based on its own assessment, not that of the ratings agencies,” he told reporters during a mid-year outlook briefing.

“The long-term credit risk in the United States — not the debt ceiling debate that we are having now — is really inflation risk. What you see in the market is, there is not a lot of inflation risk concern today,” said Rosenberg.

In mid-April, Rosenberg became one of the few mainstream credit strategists to suggest there may be a case for the U.S. to allow a temporary default on its debt.

NEW YORK, June 28 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury prices fell on Tuesday as expectations Greece will approve an austerity plan to win financial aid and avoid a debt default dampened the bid for safe-haven U.S. government debt.

Investors’ lack of appetite for Treasuries was evident in the weakest sale of five-year Treasury notes in a year.

The $35 billion five-year note auction was the second of the Treasury’s three note sales this week.

The improved prospects for Greece and rallies in equities and commodities knocked U.S. bonds off balance, analysts said.

Major U.S. stock market indexes all advanced more than 1 percent.

After a rally sent U.S. Treasury yields to six-month lows, recent weak note auctions mark at least a temporary shift in tone, said Justin Lederer, Treasury analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald. The Treasury sold two-year notes on Monday.

Greek lawmakers will vote Wednesday and Thursday on measures which must be passed for the country to get a further allotment of international aid. If Greece doesn’t get the funds, investors fear a Europe-wide crisis and credit market freeze could follow.

NEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) – U.S. government bond prices fell on Monday as investors returned to riskier assets amid expectations the Greek parliament would pass an austerity plan that would allow Greece to roll over its debt.

As demand for safe-haven U.S. debt abated, at least for the moment, global stocks advanced and the euro bounced back against the dollar. On Wall Street, major stock indexes .SPX.IXIC.DJI each rose more than 1 percent.

In contrast, benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR fell 16/32, their yields rising to 2.93 percent from 2.87 percent on Friday. The 30-year bond fell 1-20/32, its yield rising to 4.29 percent from 4.19 percent.

Several analysts said the retreat in U.S. government debt prices was due to an unwinding of safe-haven purchases made before the weekend in the event any “financial contagion” developments emerged from Europe.

“Going into the weekend, investors bought Treasuries as a hedge against unexpected bad news out of Europe,” said Gary Thayer, chief macro strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis. “When no new bad news came out, some of the safety bid came out of Treasuries.”

Greece’s parliament will begin debating a 28 billion euro ($40 billion) package of measures to increase taxes and cut fiscal spending that is critical to winning a new round of international funding to keep it afloat. For more, click on[ID:nLDE75P0BM]

Early weakness in Treasuries was exacerbated by lackluster customer interest in $35 billion of 2-year Treasury notes the government sold in the first of three note auctions this week.

NEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) – U.S. government bond prices lost more ground on Monday after low yields in a sale of two-year notes discouraged potential buyers.

Meanwhile, investors’ willingness to take a chance on riskier assets like stocks and commodities weighed on safe-haven assets like U.S. government debt.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR, down 5/32 before the auction, were down 9/32 afterwards, their yields rising to 2.90 percent from 2.87 percent on Friday.

“It was a relatively weak auction, almost certainly because two-year rates are within shouting distance of the all-time rate lows set in November 2010,” RBS head of Treasury strategy William O’Donnell said in a note to clients.

The absence of enthusiasm, at least for a day, for two-year notes with a yield of less than half a percent was apparent in the “lackluster” 35.5 percent non-dealer portion of the bid, versus the 50 percent norm, said Ian Lyngen, government bond strategist at CRT Capital in Stamford, Connecticut.

In contrast, dealers were awarded 64.5 percent of the auction, versus 50 percent, on average, of the last four two-year note auctions, he said.

The auction stopped at 0.395 percent versus a 0.385 percent 1 p.m. when-issued bid, he added.

NEW YORK, June 24 (Reuters) – Most U.S. Treasuries prices rose on Friday as fresh stock market losses enhanced the appeal of U.S. safe-haven debt, particularly before the weekend.

The influence on bond prices of a stronger-than-forecast report on last month’s U.S. durable goods orders faded as the stock market’s losses steepened on Wall Street.

“Bonds firmed up because stocks moved lower,” said Ian Lyngen, U.S. government bond strategist at CRT Capital Group in Stamford, Connecticut.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note US10YT=RR rose 5/32, erasing an earlier loss. Its yield eased to 2.89 percent from 2.91 percent late on Thursday, nearly matching the six-month intraday low set last week at 2.88 percent.

The three major U.S. stock indexes .DJI.SPX.IXIC, meanwhile, were down 0.7 percent to 0.8 percent.

Nervousness about the Greek debt situation potentially becoming “contagious” and affecting the euro zone and global financial system whetted investors’ appetite for Treasuries.

“As has been the case lately, domestic economic numbers are playing second fiddle to the events overseas,” said Kevin Giddis, president of fixed-income capital markets at Morgan Keegan. “Bonds are strengthening as investors seek ‘insurance’ from unfavorable developments in Greece over the weekend.”

NEW YORK, June 23 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasuries rose on Thursday as lower U.S. growth forecasts, a jump in new jobless claims, data showing slower growth in China’s factory sector, and a stock market slide fed demand for U.S. government debt.

Bond prices cut some gains after the International Energy Agency said it would release crude from its strategic reserve. Bonds had gained earlier on fear that the agency had something new to reveal about a possible incident at a French nuclear plant, the subject of some market talk on Wednesday.

The safety bid, along with an ongoing shortage of general collateral, helped push U.S. bill rates below zero.

Among longer-dated maturities, benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR were up 13/32, leaving their yields at 2.93 percent versus 2.97 percent on Wednesday.

On Wall Street stocks skidded, reflecting investors’ outlook for slower growth, with major stock indexes .DJI.IXIC.SPX each falling than one percent.

“The Treasury market is trading higher as the investment community digests the (lower growth forecasts) coming out of yesterday’s FOMC meeting and from Europe,” said Kevin Giddis, president of fixed-income capital markets at Morgan Keegan.

News that China’s factory sector barely grew in June strengthened the global growth slowdown idea.

NEW YORK, June 22 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasuries rose on Wednesday as Greece’s attempts to avoid a debt default and U.S. stock market losses fed a bid for safe-haven U.S. government debt hours ahead of a Federal Reserve policy statement.

While Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and his new government won a confidence vote in parliament overnight, investors’ appetite for risk remained low. Greece must still approve tough austerity measures key to get fresh funds from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. For more information, please see [ID:nLDE75K21X]

Narrow U.S. stock market losses also offered evidence of investors’ subdued appetite for riskier assets.

As markets waited to hear what the Fed would signal about the course of monetary policy in coming months, “weakness in stocks and continued jitters about the European situation” kept U.S. Treasuries prices in the plus column, said CRT Capital Group government bond strategist Ian Lyngen.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR rose 5/32, their yields at 2.97 percent from 2.99 percent on Tuesday.

Some participants took a skeptical view of the market.

“Our near-term bias still tilts bearishly due to increasingly overbought conditions and expectations that manufacturing and some employment measures such as jobless claims will look more robust in July and August,” said RBS U.S. government bond strategist William O’Donnell.

NEW YORK, June 22 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasuries rose on Wednesday as Greece’s struggle to avoid a debt default sustained bids for safe-haven debt while markets waited to hear what the Federal Reserve would signal about the course of monetary policy in coming months.

While Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and his new government won a confidence vote in parliament overnight, investors appetite for risk remained low. Greece must still approve tough austerity measures key to get fresh funds from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. For more information, please see [ID:nLDE75K21X]

Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR rose 9/32, their yields easing to 2.95 percent from 2.99 percent late on Tuesday.

“We recommend a neutral Treasury market exposure until more concrete signs emerge that the market is poised to re-trend,” said RBS U.S. government bond strategist William O’Donnell.

“Our near-term bias still tilts bearishly due to increasingly overbought conditions and expectations that manufacturing and some employment measures such as jobless claims will look more robust in July and August,” he said.

The Fed’s two-day policy meeting ends this afternoon with a policy statement and Fed chief Ben Bernanke’s news conference.

After a two-month stretch of mostly weak economic news, investors will pay keen attention to whether the Fed views this recent weakness as transitory or risks becoming entrenched.

NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) – Treasuries prices fell on Friday as safe-haven flows to U.S. government debt ebbed after French President Nicolas Sarkozy hinted at a deal to resolve the Greek debt crisis.

News of a new rescue package for Greece allowed riskier assets to rally – stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street – and diminished the appetite for safe-haven investments like U.S. Treasuries.

The Greek debt crisis has been affecting moment-to-moment safe-haven flows as the Greek government tries to muster internal political support for austerity measures demanded by the European Union and IMF in exchange for cash to avert a debt default. [ID:nL3E7HH08R]

Benchmark 10-year notes were down 5/32 in price, their yields up to 2.95 percent from 2.93 percent late on Thursday.

“We recommend a neutral Treasury market exposure until more concrete signs emerge that the market is poised to re-trend,” said RBS U.S. government bond strategist William O’Donnell.

“Daily and weekly momentum studies are into overbought territory,” he added, citing resistance at 2.90 percent for 10-year yields and support at 3.10 percent, the 200-day moving average.

Traders said the market was consolidating recent gains, waiting for more data on the economy to set its next course, while also following news on the euro zone debt situation.