Italian Bonds Slide as Demand Falls at Sale; Greek Debt Slumps
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Italy’s bonds fell, with two-year yields rising to the highest since before the European Central Bank began buying the nation’s debt last month, as concern the debt crisis is worsening sapped demand at a note sale today.
Greek two-year notes slid for a 10th day, pushing yields toward 77 percent, as credit-default swaps showed the nation has a 98 percent chance of default in the next five years. Italy sold 3.9 billion euros ($5.3 billion) of five-year notes at an average yield of 5.60 percent, up from 4.93 percent at the previous auction of similar-maturity debt in July. Demand dropped to 1.28 times the amount on offer, from 1.93 times.