They figured 10% of the ad click-throughs would yield a sign-up.

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Technically, a high yield test would be self-evidently a sign of national strength.

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That is a sign that high-yield bonds look expensive, at least relative to stocks, says Edward Marrinan, head of macro credit strategy at RBS Securities in Stamford, Conn.

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The yield on high-yield bonds has risen to 9.33%, the highest level since 2002 and a sign of growing default risk, even though defaults remain near a historic low.

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Yet in a sign that investors remain more risk-averse to Italy, the yield on Italian 10-year bonds on Tuesday increased to 5.8% from 5.6% on Monday.

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In a sign of further volatility, the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield hit 1.0%, the highest in nearly a year.

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Another bad sign: The federal funds rate target of 4.75% remains higher than the yield on 10-year Treasurys.

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German bund yield have risen sharply in response to better-than-expected U.S. and domestic data, certainly a sign that investors are looking to take on more risk.

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