Banks in Europe are facing a prolonged era of low interest rates, a gloomy economic outlook and souring loans that are expected to rise.

The S&P 500’s Hottest Sector: Materials Shares of the companies that mine or make raw materials are lately trading like once-hot technology stocks. The S&P 500’s materials sector is up around 5.4% this month, even as the broader index has fallen more than 4%.

Banks Pile Into Treasurys, Helping to Fund Government Borrowing Spree Surging deposits and declining lending are driving banks to dramatically increase their holdings of U.S. Treasurys, offering significant support to the bond market at a time of unprecedented government borrowing.