Over the last two years, we've feared that the debt woes of Greece, Ireland, and Portugal would infect the continent's larger economies -- notably France and Italy, the second- and third-largest economies in the eurozone. Unfortunately, as of this morning, the bond market provides strong evidence that at least one of these is a foregone conclusion, as Italian 10-year bond yields rose above the key 7% level on Wednesday.
The bond market as king-maker
For many equity investors -- myself included -- it's almost impossible to appreciate the overwhelming power of the bond market. One person who's not under a similar delusion is Bill Clinton. He feared the bond market's reaction to his 1993 spending plan so much that he abandoned it in favor of a balanced budget after uttering the now-infamous line: "You mean to tell me that the success of the economic program and my reelection hinges on the Federal Reserve and a bunch of [expletive] bond traders?"
A similar thing is now going on in Europe, as rising bond yields have led multiple countries to seek bailouts from the IMF and European Union in exchange for politically destabilizing austerity measures. Over the weekend, for example, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou stated that he will resign his position as soon as a successor is named. And Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledged yesterday to step down after his country's Parliament approves a series of austerity measures.
The point of no return
The problem that Greece and Italy face is quite simple. Both have inordinately high levels of debt relative to their GDPs. And both continue to run large fiscal deficits, meaning that their governments spend more each year than they receive in revenue. To avoid default, in turn, Greece and Italy must have access to reasonably priced credit via the bond market or they must seek a bailout from outside of their borders -- a measure Greece has already resorted to.
And when does credit become too pricey? Well, if the recent past is any guide, the line in the sand appears to be 7%, for it was at that point when Portugal and Ireland were forced to seek financial bailouts from abroad.
So what does this mean for investors?
If your name is Ayn Rand or Alan Greenspan -- or you otherwise believe in the efficient market hypothesis that current asset prices accurately reflect all available information about future events -- then you should carry on as usual, as the possibility of an Italian default is already priced into the stock market according to this theory. Also, you may be interested in some amazing swamp land that I'm selling in Kansas -- while it isn't as magical as John Galt's hidden valley in Atlas Shrugged, you can't beat the price!
If you're a mere mortal like me, however, and you don't believe in the efficient market hypothesis, there's two ways to play this. For those of you with high risk tolerances, financials like Bank of America
For those of you with low risk tolerances, I suggest taking advantage of the market's current pessimism by locking in high dividend yields. My two favorites in this space are Waste Management
The only thing I would caution against in this regard is chasing dividend yields that appear too good to be true, as they just may be. Annaly Capital Management
Looking for more dividend stock suggestions?
Because space is limited here, for more dividend stock suggestions I urge you to check out our recently released free report detailing 11 rock-solid dividend stocks that will help you secure fat quarterly dividend checks this year and in the years to come. I invite you to pick up your free copy today by clicking here now.
