On 19 January, the eurozone was able to take a breath for just a moment, after an important test was passed by France and Spain on the markets, ahead of a new round of crucial negotiations for Greece – planned in the evening – which could lead to an agreement with banks (see page 9). Back to back, France and Spain achieved their goal. Madrid managed to borrow much more than what it had hoped for – and at reduced rates on the ten-year yield, which is the most sensitive for markets. The Spanish treasury borrowed 6.609 billion euro, ie a much higher sum than its objective, which was 3.5-4.5 billion euro. A few minutes later, Paris breezily borrowed close to 9.5 billion euro, a figure that met its objective – also with reduced rates. These French and Spanish loans, some of which are over a period of ten years, served as a test, less than a week after Standard & Poor’s lowered the ratings of nine eurozone countries – including France, which lost its ‘triple A’ rating, and Spain, whose rating was cut by two notches.

Yet, since the beginning of the week, all the European countries that presented themselves on the debt market – France, Spain, Portugal and Germany – were able to borrow comfortably with reduced rates.