Chilly tests loom for eurozone bonds

January in the northern hemisphere is usually the coldest month of the year and January 2011 might prove to be a bitter one for eurozone governments trying to raise money in the capital markets.

The first month of the year tends to be one of the busiest for government bond issuance as debt agencies seek to “frontload”, or sell a large amount of bonds early to get a headstart in their borrowing programmes.