First eurozone bailout bonds snapped up in €5bn auction

The first AAA-rated bonds issued by the eurozone's new bailout fund have been snapped up by Asian and Middle East investors in a €5bn (£4.3bn) auction.

The bond issuance to fund stage one of the Irish loan package was subject to huge demand from investors yesterday and was nine times subscribed, the Telegraph reports. The five-year bonds, with yields of 2.89%, experienced high demand as a result of Japan's statement it would buy 20% of this month's total issue. The successful auction also reflects demand for bonds ranked with core German or French debt, but with higher returns. Asian investors bought 38% of the issue by the European Financial Stability Facility, the head of which describes demand as ‘the biggest order book ever'. ...