Credit default swaps are derivatives that investors use to protect against, or bet on, an entity being unable to repay its debts. The higher the spread, the less faith the market has that default can be avoided. As fears over the fiscal health of peripheral euro-zone countries have resurfaced, their spreads have climbed dramatically. Those of larger members have also widened, but by less. America's federal and state governments, by contrast, are by and large seen as much safer than they were at the start of 2009, though spreads has crept up this year amid growing worries about chronic pension and health-care shortfalls. The state with the biggest budget problems, California, is seen as slightly less likely to default than Spain but slightly more so than Italy.
Credit-default-swaps spreads: Not Greek yet
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