Some quotes lifted from a chat room – Thanks again, William.br /br /The price of credit default swaps on five-year US government debt rose to a record 17.5 basis points in early trading, according to CMA Datavision.br /br /Although the market for such insurance is relatively illiquid, the price suggests the market believes the US government is more likely to default on its obligations than some other industrialized countries. “The USA is now ‘riskier’ than Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Austria, France, Denmark, Quebec and Japan,” said Tim Backshall, chief strategist at Credit Derivatives Research.br /br /How about this one?br /br /From the Financial Times: “Bankers say Russia is facing its worst crisis since the August 1998 default. “br /br /or this one, also from the FT?br /br /Indonesia failed to sell bonds in an auction on Tuesday in a sign of growing worries over emerging markets as concerns heightened over the health of the world economy.br /br /Kind of makes you want to own gold, doesn’t it? Too bad the gold market is not reading this – YET.