German Bonds Climb in 2010 as Fiscal Crisis Roils Euro Area
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German bunds climbed this year, the best performance since 2008, as the fiscal crisis that roiled the euro area’s most-indebted nations drove investors to the safest fixed-income assets in the region.
Top-rated euro-denominated securities from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and France led gains in 2010, while the debt of Greece and Ireland, which sought bailouts this year, had the biggest losses among 26 markets tracked by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. Bunds slid in the fourth quarter by the most since June 2008 amid signs the global economy is strengthening and concern German costs for helping fellow euro-member states may escalate in 2011.