...Creditworthiness is no longer a key factor in investment decisions, Marc Oswald, a strategist at Monument Securities told CNBC via email, which he said sadly does reflect the vicissitudes of reality. Standard & Poor's currently has a AA-plus credit rating for the U.S. and a BBB-plus rating for Ireland, although an update for the latter is due on Friday.
..."It is crazy," Oswald said, but explained that with the ECB introducing a negative deposit rate for Europe's banks will force them to pile money into short term government bonds so they are not generating a negative income. Added to this, negative rates will also force cash out of money market funds and into fixed income, he said, meaning bond investors will be looking for the more attractive long-dated yields of peripheral debt, thus helping them lower.
..."This is not an investment strategy, but a job preservation strategy," he said. "In the long run this is the road to the next crisis, but there are very few people who take a long-term view when it might cost them their job."