France’s AAA Status in Tatters as Yields Surge: Euro Credit

Investors aren’t waiting for Standard & Poor’s or Moody’s Investors Service to strip France, Europe’s second-biggest economy, of its top credit rating.

The extra yield demanded to lend to AAA rated France for 10 years was 163 basis points more than the German rate today in London. The gap was 200 basis points on Nov. 17, the widest since 1990, up from 28 in April. The French 10-year yield was at 3.53 percent, about midway between top-rated Holland and Belgium, which is graded one level lower at Aa1 by Moody’s. French borrowing costs are more than a percentage point above the AAA rated U.K.