Two strange things are going on in Europe. As the chart below shows, there has been a big increase in the quantity of government bonds that have a negative yield. The big bear market that hit US stocks in the 4th quarter of last year has had a huge impact on rates both in the US, and especially in Europe. Investors clearly believe that inflation in the Eurozone is dead.
At the same time, our featured chart shows that stocks in Europe are flat-lining; the volatility of European stocks has gotten crushed.
For more information, you can check out these two articles from The Wall Street Journal.
