Ed Yardeni has a great graph of European sovereign yield history. It’s interesting to note that yields have basically rebounded to levels that prevailed before the euro was launched. Of course, some of the rebounding has moved faster and climbed higher in certain countries.

The main exception is Germany, the undisputed benchmark for “risk free” yield in euroland. Accordingly, German yields have dropped given in the current debt-deflation climate. Otherwise, it’s up, up, and away with current yields. The irrational exuberance over the euro from the pre-launch era has evaporated. What’s old is new. The big outlier–Greece–is now at yields that were the norm in the early ’90s. If you pulled a Rip Van Winkle over the last 20 years you might wonder what all the excitement’s about. Nothing’s changed, at least from a yield perspective. Interim details, of course, can alter one’s perspective (and hit you over the head).