Sovereign successes bolster tone

Three of the European sovereigns at the heart of the region's bond market volatility — Greece, Italy and Spain— appear to have ridden out the latest potential squalls in their markets. Greece succeeded in reaching the target for its latest bond buyback, while fears that Italian prime minister Mario Monti's decision to step down sooner than expected would renew funding pressures on peripheral eurozone issuers were calmed on Tuesday. To cap it all, Spain surpassed its maximum volume target at auction.