We have long argued that there must be a buyer of last resort with an infinite balance sheet to restore private confidence in European bond markets. If the US had to borrow 10-year funding at 6%, it would add about $400 billion annually to our deficit, an increase of approximately 30%. Ten-year rates are now above 6% in Italy (6.5%), Ireland (8.5%), Hungary (8.5%), Portugal (12%), and Greece 25%). Spain is not far behind at 5.8%. Had the summit been a success and investors believed that "no sovereign will default," then these rates would be substantially lower. We continue to believe that only the ECB has the wherewithal to end this crisis, and they remain stubborn in their view that it is not their role to do so.

David Fuller's view There is global coverage in this issue and I commend it to you.