Investors pour back into money funds after debt deal

Investors pumped $8.9 billion into money-market mutual funds Thursday, the first day of deposits in more than two weeks, as an agreement by lawmakers in Washington averted a government default. Money funds that cater to institutions took in $11.1 billion, according to research firm Crane Data LLC in Westborough, Massachusetts, including $5.1 billion into funds that almost exclusively buy Treasuries or other debt backed by the U.S. government. Republican Party leaders in Congress agreed Oct. 16 not to block a measure to end a government shutdown and lift the borrowing limit that Treasury officials said they would reach the next day. The accord with President Barack Obama sets a Dec. 13 date for completing talks that opened Thursday on a broader budget deal. It funds government operations through Jan. 15 and suspends the debt limit through Feb. 7. Thursday's net deposits were the first for U.S. money funds since Oct. 1. Investors withdrew $61.9 billion this month through Oct. 16, including $21.6 billion on Oct. 11, according to Crane Data. (Bloomberg News)