EUROPE'S NEW REALITIES.

This article looks at the trends in the bond market in Europe in 2009. It compares the value of bonds issued by the Greek and German governments. It explains the observation that spreads had seemed sustainable enough in times of excess liquidity and general investor optimism and goodwill toward the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) project. It also notes that sovereign and supranational bonds are themselves seeing a surge in their borrowing programs.