The big story in the bond markets these days is the emergence of negative interest rates for a number of sovereigns, which is pretty amazing. But there’s another story that shouldn’t be overlooked: borrowing costs for supposedly risky debtors not named Greece have plunged below those of supposedly safe borrowers. Here’s the view this morning:

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There’s a persistent myth to the effect that low borrowing costs are a reward for austerity; you still hear that all the time from the current UK government. But Spain, with its BBB rating, now has a lower 10-year rate than the UK, with its AAA rating. Even Italy, with its BBB-, is now on a par with Britain.

Oh, and isn’t it amazing how people continue to talk about a French debt crisis with French 10-years at 0.58, that’s right, 0.58 percent?