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Euro Bond and CDS Spreads Widen

By Anonymous

Here are two graphs from the Atlanta Fed weekly Financial Highlights released today (graph as of June 2nd):

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

From the Atlanta Fed:

Despite the latest announcement of planned austerity measures by Spain, Portugal, and Italy, uncertainty around the adjustment
challenges in peripheral Europe continues to weigh on the region?s bond prices.

Downgrading of Spanish sovereign debt by Fitch and ongoing concerns about the Spanish banking sector further added to investor worries.

Compared with two weeks ago, peripheral Europe's bond spreads to bunds have widened by 30 basis points (bps) on average.

After declining early last week, sovereign debt spreads have begun widening for peripheral euro area countries. As of June 1, the 10-year bond spread stands at 503 basis points (bps) for Greece, 219 bps for Ireland, 195 bps for Portugal, and 162 bps for Spain.

Similarly, CDS spreads have risen after the initial response to the stabilization package.

It should be noted that the German government, through its financial services regulator BaFin, unilaterally and temporarily banned naked short selling of sovereign debt securities, naked credit default swaps on European sovereign
debt in which the buyer has no hedging demand, and naked short sales in 10 prominent German financials.

After declining following the policy response, the bond and CDS spreads have resumed their steady climb - especially for Greece and Portugal.

And from Reuters today: Hungary Warns of Deficit Overshoot; EU Urges Action

Hungary ... government officials reiterated the 2010 fiscal gap may reach almost twice the target agreed with lenders including the EU. ... Public finances were in much worse shape than previously expected and there was only a slim chance of avoiding a Greek-style scenario, news portal napi.hu cited [the vice chairman of the ruling Fidesz party, Lajos Kosa] as saying.

The euro is down to 1.2166 dollars, the lowest level in four years.

Full post as published by Calculated Risk on June 03, 2010 (boomark / email).