Interest Rates So Low Even the Founding Fathers Would Gawk

By Avi Gilburt:At this point in our 236 year history, the United States is faced with making a choice between bankruptcy or depression. The problem is that the "choice" may ultimately not be much of a choice at all. Our Founding Fathers' Perspective

Tim Iacono submits: As the congressional hearings on the role of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department in the late-2008 bailout of AIG (AIG) proceed (live blogging here at the WSJ if

President Barack Obama is set to kick off his second term with the State of the Union address tonight, but the question is — will it make history?

Add France to the list of eurozone countries with negative short-term interest rates. The Wall Street Journal reports France Joins Germany to Sell T-Bills At Negative Yield France joined a handful of euro-zone countries Monday in selling short-term debt at negative interest rates as investors seek alternatives to expensive German and Dutch debt.

The Fed's lucky streak of luring bond investors with low interest rates may be drawing to a close. Nevertheless, the extended period of low borrowing costs has bred a new breed of investor. To the bulls and bears, we can now add the ostriches - those who bury their heads in the sand of declining debt service ratios while refusing to face up to intractable levels of total US government debt. If these ostriches were to actually look at the numbers, they would realize that it is their investments which are made of sand.

By Zvi Bar:Many investors have been craving higher yielding investments lately. The interest rate most banks now offer for cash and CDs is nearly nothing, and getting lower all the time. Worse yet, U.S. debt is facing downgrade fears. As a result, many investors are avoiding the bond markets and the potential depreciation there, and looking for stable large-cap equities that can fill the fixed income portion of their portfolio.