Bond Outlook June 17 2009

Suppose a person with a serious lung disease catches flu, and undergoes intensive treatment for only the latter ailment; does overcoming it mean their underlying problem has been solved? The same question begs itself of the US and related economies with regard to the much-trumpeted resolution of the banking and financial market crisis. Is the crisis the cause or merely the symptom? Our sick person’s flu may come as a result of his lung problem, but it is not the root cause.