Symbolic imageBond selloff deepens as France becomes the market's stress gauge
Yields on US, euro-zone and UK government bonds kept climbing this week. Bloomberg calls France the bellwether for global market stress.
The FT reported on Thursday, 8 October, that US mortgage rates rose for a seventh straight week to their highest since 2023, citing surging Treasury yields, high energy prices and expected Fed tightening. The WSJ says Treasury and euro-zone yields are rising relentlessly, and it runs pieces on default as a tail risk for French bonds and on further euro losses. A day earlier, French ten-year yields reached 4.87 per cent according to the FT, and the euro fell to a 16-month low against sterling.
ECB stays cautious
A central bank chief said on Wednesday that conditions for ECB intervention are not in place, and Bloomberg examines why the ECB is wary of stepping in. Euro ministers plan to press Paris to pass its 2027 budget.
Banks and investors react
Bloomberg reports that European bank stocks are heading for their biggest two-day slump since March and that NatWest is pulling back from dealing US and European government bonds. The FT says asset managers are "bottom fishing" in euro-zone bonds, arguing that fears of a repeat of the debt crisis are overdone.