Treasury’s 2024 regular buyback plan faces ‘extreme skepticism’ at Jefferies

The U.S. Treasury’s plan for a 2024 regular buyback program to help support liquidity in the government-debt market is drawing doubts from at least one important player: investment bank Jefferies Group.Since buybacks were first discussed in November 2022, Jefferies JEF has “expressed extreme skepticism that such a program would have benefits that outweigh the costs and risks,” said U.S. economist Thomas Simons. Jefferies is one of two dozen primary dealers that act as trading counterparties of the Federal Reserve’s New York branch, and help to implement monetary policy.Treasury’s buyback plan was included in the department’s…