Investors are increasingly wary of a global financial meltdown, most likely emanating from Europe, but with the US fiscal cliff, political instability in the Middle East, and a slowdown in China all coming into play. Meltdown fears, even if remote, directly raise the premium that savers are willing to pay for bonds that they perceive as the most reliable, much as the premium for gold rises.
但最近大热的是第三个因素。投资者越来越担心全球金融市场崩盘（最有可能从欧洲开始），此外还有美国财政悬崖、中东政局不稳以及中国减速等状况可能发生。崩盘恐慌虽然很遥远，却也直接提高了储蓄者愿意为他们所认为的最可靠债券付出的溢价，正如黄金溢价一涨再涨。相同的恐慌还制约了商业投资，尽管许多公司面临的利率已降至极低水平，但商业投资仍然停滞不前。