FINANCIAL TIMES: A dismal US jobs report and weak economic data from Brazil, China and the UK exacerbated fears of a sharp global slowdown on Friday, as markets ended a historic week with borrowing costs for haven nations plunging to new all-time lows.
The US payrolls report for May recorded only 69,000 new jobs for the month – against expectations of 150,000 – and capped a string of bad news that sent benchmark bond yields for the US, UK and Germany to unprecedented levels. Germany’s 30-year borrowing costs fell below Japan’s for the first time ever while Denmark became the first EU country to see its 10-year yields drop below 1 per cent…
“This week has been a real game-changer. There is no good news anywhere,” said Mark Schofield, global head of interest rate strategy at Citi. “The market is pricing in a much, much greater probability of one of two events in Europe: the break-up of the euro or fiscal union.”… (more)
