Contrary to expectations, yields on government bonds to ten years U.S., the famous "T-Bonds," have not suffered the loss by the United States of their "triple A", which gave investors the best repayment guarantees available. Since the deterioration of the financial rating of Uncle Sat, August 6, the rating agency Standard & Poor's, the rate of return on government bonds ten years has even relaxed. It went from 2.58% the day before the announcement to 2.19% yesterday in New York.
"Common sense would that loss of the triple A, synonymous with degradation of the repayment capacity of borrowers, resulting in a tension on the rate of pay required by lenders, said Jean-Louis Mourier, economist at Aurel BGC. But the United States are in a particular position.In a world facing many economic uncertainties, bonds issued by the U.S. state are still considered a less risky than most other investments. "
Experts call this the "fly to quality", that is to say the postponement of international investors on asset quality at the expense of investment risk. "On the merits, there is no big difference between a AAA and AA +, said Philippe d'Arvisenet, chief economist of BNP Paribas. Everyone knows that the U.S. is heavily indebted, but nobody doubts their ability to repay their debts. However, there are concerns about the viability of the euro area, especially on signs of a slowdown in the global economy.These weigh on the shares, since one can fear a deterioration of business results. "
The shares were most affected
Since August 6, the Dow Jones, which includes the thirty largest U.S. companies, has in fact lost more than 3%, bringing in its wake all the global indices including the CAC 40 index, down 7.6% on the same period. Jean-Marie Mercadal, director of management at OFI AM, states that "analysts are still waiting for an increase of 14% of the profits of U.S. companies in 2012, but this estimate could be up to a 5% drop in a recession" . That's exactly what operators fear most.
In this context, the loans issued by the United States appears more secure.The U.S. bond market is mainly the most liquid and deepest in the world, ensuring that investors can sell their shares at any time, even in case of crisis. An advantage not available to France, which would it heavily penalized in the event of deterioration in its financial rating.
ALSO READ:
"Alain Minc:" The AAA of France is a national treasure "
"It's hard to recover the" AAA "when it was lost
»COMPUTER GRAPHICS – Who holds the State debts
»COMPUTER GRAPHICS – The world seen by the rating agencies