> interest rates would predict. Japan pays a premium when borrowing and it
> is in part because of the poor quality of Japanese loan portfolios. U.S.
> Treasuries are the standard by which all other credit is judged.
When borrowing *abroad*. But Japan doesn't need to borrow abroad; it's a global creditor nation, remember? You seem to forget that the US has been borrowing around $100 billion from Japan every year to finance its own expansion.
The spread between the T-bill and the E-bill (euro-bill) is the *true* standard by which global credit is judged.
-- Dennis