Before the summiteers set foot in the U.S. capital, the White House colluded with NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana to take some steam out of an issue filled with political and diplomatic, not to mention military, perils.
Italy's reform effort quickly ran out of steam the moment the ECB made its offer of cheap, long-term loans to banks, while Spain offered only a half-baked reform of its banks.
The strength in stocks and the bullish economic readings sucked some of the steam out of bonds, with the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note sailing higher up near 3.16%, up from 2.85% less than one week ago.