France raises €9.5 billion in bond sale

France has easily sold €9.5 billion ($12.2 billion) in bonds in its first longer-term auctions since it lost its prized triple A credit rating from Standard & Poor’s. The yields, or interest rates, demanded by investors on a range of bonds fell across the board on Thursday compared to similar auctions in recent months. It was another sign that investors are shrugging off the S&P’s downgrade of France’s credit rating last week. Some analysts have said that’s because France was already paying a premium to borrow money from markets even before the move. The yield on 10-year bonds on the secondary market, where they trade openly after they’re issued, fell to 3.12 percent, indicating that investors feel France remains a fairly good bet.