Yes. There were seven bond auction failures for German sovereign paper last year.
This one, however, was the largest shortfall in bidders in about eight years.
There have been other sovereign paper auction failures in Europe — the Netherlands, for example.
It isn’t the end of the world, but it does predict that nations issuing debt will need to start increasing yields on their paper in order to attract buyers of bonds. 3.19% in German paper isn’t enough to take on the risk of the Euro and EU-wide machinations. The US has no trouble selling short-term debt for lower yields, probably because our paper is perceived as safer.
Right you are, Dave. No new news here — remember some of Ita;y’s auctions in the ‘90s? (chortle!!)