by Calculated Risk on 11/23/2011 03:13:00 PM

Yields are rising quickly ...

From Reuters: Belgian/German spreads hit euro-era highs on political deadlock

The yield premium of Belgian 10-year government bonds over German Bunds hit euro-era highs on Wednesday after a blow to prospects of forming a government left the country vulnerable to a fast-spreading debt crisis.

The highly-indebted country, which has been without a government for 18 months, suffered a further blow on Tuesday when its lead negotiator in forming an administration resigned.

From the WSJ: German Bond Auction Adds to Investor Worries on Euro Zone

A German government debt auction drew some of the weakest demand since the introduction of the euro, signaling diminishing investor appetite for even the safest euro-zone assets amid Europe's worsening debt crisis.

From the Athens News: Samaras addresses letter to creditors

In the latest move in the power game over the written commitment that EU leaders have asked Pasok and New Democracy to cosign, Antonis Samaras on Wednesday sent a letter to the European Union and IMF reiterating his support for the new prime minister and for fiscal adjustment targets.
...
He noted, however, that “certain policies have to be modified”.
...
It was not immediately clear whether the letter would satisfy the EU and IMF ... Earlier on Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that if Samaras did not sign, an 8bn euro bailout payment would not be released.

From Bloomberg: Three-Month Dollar Libor Reaches 0.5%, 1st Time Since July 2010

The London interbank offered rate, or Libor, for three- month dollar loans climbed to 0.50028 percent from 0.495 percent yesterday, data from the British Bankers’ Association showed. That’s the highest level since July 21, 2010.

Below is a table for several European bond yields (links to Bloomberg).

The Italian 10 year bond yield is at 6.97%; the Italian 2 year yield is up to 7.12%!

The Spanish 10 year bond yield has increased to 6.65%; the Spanish 2 year yield is up to 5.86%.

The Belgian 10 year yield is up sharply to 5.48%; the Belgian 2 year yield is 4.94%.

The Irish 10 year yield is at 8.21%. The Portuguese 10 year yield is at 11.3%.

The French 10 year bond yield is at 3.69%.

Greece	2 Year	5 Year	10 Year
Portugal	2 Year	5 Year	10 Year
Ireland	2 Year	5 Year	10 Year
Spain	2 Year	5 Year	10 Year
Italy	2 Year	5 Year	10 Year
Belgium	2 Year	5 Year	10 Year
France	2 Year	5 Year	10 Year
Germany	2 Year	5 Year	10 Year