CONTAGION GETS OFF TO A START
Edito This week marks a new turning point for the European sovereign bond market with contagion showing its head again. In the space of about ten days, long Spanish securities gave up almost as many basis points compared to Germany as Italian papers, with a 10 year SPGB – Bund spread that went from 105bp to 130bp, a high this year. Uncertainty on the possible rejection of the Italian budget, the rating agencies’ decisions, high supply volumes and the announcements on the Spanish banks can’t help but remind us of the configuration we saw this summer. For all that, we think that this correction is excessive, particularly for Spain and Portugal. In a way, investors will perhaps be relieved in the end once again by the decisions published by Moody’s and S&P. We’ll have an answer between now and next week...