6 Key Market Observations and 2 Conclusions Last week I wrote about how interest rates on some European government debt was trading at a negative yield...that is...you buy short term German or Swiss bonds and you get your money back...minus a safekeeping charge. This week the number of European countries with government securities trading at negative yields grew to include Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Finland, Denmark and Austria....while the yield on Spanish 10 year government bonds rose to 7.3%...their highest level since the introduction of the Euro. Advertisement This week the value of the Euro fell to a 2 year low against the US Dollar, a 12 year low against the Yen, a 21 year low against the CAD and a 23 year low against the AUD. Credit Quality Spreads Widen: The market is focused on Spain...where the debt problems only seem to be getting worse...while at the same time citizens of countries that might provide financial help, particularly Germany, seem to be increasingly unwilling to do so ....this is making the "Euro debt crisis" an even tougher problem to solve...fear is driving capital from the periphery to the center in an attempt to find relative safety...the yield spreads between problem countries and perceived safe havens continue to widen. The Crisis Could Get Much Worse -- Quickly : Despite the fact that several European financial crises have come and gone over the past couple of years, it now feels as though the crisis could suddenly take a dramatic turn for the