Tension rises on weaker eurozone debt

Borrowing costs for debt-strained eurozone countries rose on Wednesday after Germany warned that rescue arrangements announced last week did not amount to a blank cheque. The remarks by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble added to cautious comment by many analysts about the effect and implications of the complex arrangements announced on Thursday to rescue Greece for a second time and also to stop debt contagion in the eurozone. But the cost of borrowing for Spain, as indicated by the yield on benchmark 10-year debt bonds, rose back above 6.0 percent to 6.020 percent from 5.935 percent late on Tuesday. The 10-year yield for Italy rose to 5.748 percent from 5.716 percent. The yield on 10-year Greek debt rose to 14.435 percent from 14.334 percent. However, the yield on the eurozone benchmark 10-year German bond, the Bund, fell to 2.706 percent from 2.738 percent, and yield on French 10-year debt eased to 3.304 percent from 3.334 percent. The German and French bonds carry triple "A" credit ratings and are considered to be safe, thereby benefiting whenever there is a so-called flight of savings to high quality instruments.