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The Advance Auto Parts executives said the timing was right. The company wanted to capture more business by adding stores and expanding its fleet as motorists kept cars longer and needed more parts. So in January, looking at historically low interest rates and reassured by relative calm in the financial markets, the company issued $300 million in 10-year corporate bonds that pay investors 4.5 percent interest a year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE NEWS Investors wary of taking on any risk actually bid down the yield on short-term Treasury notes to zero and briefly even below zero, meaning they were paying more to buy the notes than they will receive in principal and interest when the notes mature. BEHIND THE NEWS You know the financial markets are deeply nervous when a guaranteed loss on three-month Treasuries is seen as a better idea than taking a chance on any alternative investment, from stocks to bonds to commodities to bank deposits. Economists worry that such caution could slow a recovery by choking off investments in stocks and corporate bonds that businesses need to finance their operations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]