Chart 1 shows a snapshot of the relative calm, before the recent storm, for BBB corporate spreads for the euro area and the US as well as 10 year sovereign bond spreads (relative to the Bund) for a number of euro-area countries. To a large extent, the positive trend in macroeconomic growth and stability and the low and stable credit premia are closely related.
Making economic and monetary union work in the long run These are efforts that should be undertaken by countries individually. But there is also work to be done collectively. Most importantly, governments should work towards completing Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). EMU remains an incomplete construction.