Yields on notes dropped to the lowest levels in at least six weeks as sovereign
risk crises in nations such as Greece, Portugal and Spain dulled investors’
appetite for higher- yielding assets. The U.S. economy unexpectedly lost 20,000
jobs last month, a report showed, and the Treasury prepared
The European Central Bank left its benchmark interest rate at 1 per cent, a
record low, and will probably hold off unwinding any more emergency lending
measures as Greece's budget deficit takes center stage. ECB President
Jean-Claude Trichet's rate decision was predicted by all 55
Credit-default swaps on Portugal’s government debt soared 29 basis points to a
record 225, according to CMA DataVision prices at 9 a.m. in London. Contracts
on Greece jumped 25.5 basis points to 423, Spain increased 13.5 basis points to
166.5, Italy was up 13 at 144 and Ireland climbed 9 to
Banco Comercial Portugues SA, Portugal’s biggest publicly traded bank by
assets, slumped to a sixth-month low as credit- default swaps on the nation’s
government debt rose to a record. Shell, which vies with BP Plc as Europe’s
biggest oil company, declined 1.6 percent in
Shell, which vies with BP Plc as Europe’s biggest oil company, declined 1.8
percent in London. Zurich Financial, Switzerland’s biggest insurer, gained 5.2
percent after profit increased more than fivefold. Vodafone, the world’s
largest mobile-phone company, rose 3.8 percent after boosting
Yields on notes dropped to the lowest levels in at least six weeks as sovereign
risk crises in nations such as Greece, Portugal and Spain dulled investors’
appetite for higher- yielding assets. The U.S. economy unexpectedly lost 20,000
jobs last month, a report showed, and the Treasury prepared
