German Bond Auction Falls Short

Germany failed to get bids for 35 percent of the 10-year bonds offered for sale today, propelling borrowing costs in Europe higher and the euro lower on concern the region’s debt crisis is driving away investors.

“This auction is nothing short of a disaster for Germany,” Mark Grant, a managing director at Southwest Securities Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said by e-mail. “If the strongest nation in Europe has this kind of difficulty raising capital, one shudders concerning the upcoming auctions in other European nations.”
This is beyond contagion - the eurozone is becoming terra incognita for investors - people are terrified in the markets. The "core" should realize what Benjamin Franklin said - that the EZ will either hang together or most assuredly hang separately.