Spain raised $2.6 billion in a bond sale this morning, but the higher interest rate of 6.1 percent shows that investors are still concerned that Spain has not wiped their hands clean of the financial mess just yet.
All eyes are on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke today as he testifies today on Capitol Hill and announces his plans for interest rates and quantitative easing.
Spain nears a credit crisis, worldwide markets are down, and U.S. borrowing costs near zero. Some economists argue this economic instant is the best time for the U.S. government to invest in infrastructure projects.
The survey consensus was for no increase to slight increase in interest rates for 2012. Nothing dramatic. Very muted. There's no sense that the economy will turn gangbusters. At best, the economy will show modest gains in 2012.
The Federal Reserve's policy of low interest rates allows the government to borrow money at little cost. But analysts predict it's just a matter of time before interest rates shoot back up.