Everyone knows how the dominoes will fall in Europe: Spain, then Italy, then struggling France, stuck with the biggest of big governments, a Socialist president and a population that thinks the work ethic is a type of chocolate biscuit.
Hedge funds spent much of last year warning that France might even leapfrog Italy in the contagion queue, while betting against French government debt. So it must come as a bit of a surprise that the French 2-year bond now yields less than half that of the US, and is below the UK.
French 2 year bond yield (Source: Bloomberg)
James Mackintosh is the Financial Times' Investment Editor, writing and presenting the daily Short View column and video. In 16 years at the FT his posts have included comment editor, motor industry editor and hedge funds correspondent, as well as spells in the Parliamentary lobby and Paris. He was the first reporter hired for FT.com, joining two weeks before it launched.
John Authers is the Financial Times' Senior Investment Columnist, writing the Saturday Long View and a regular Monday column. In a 22-year career at the FT, his previous posts have included global head of the Lex column, investment editor, US markets editor, Mexico City bureau chief and US banking correspondent. His latest book is The Fearful Rise of Markets. 