MarketWatch: Companies have sold about $8.4 trillion in debt so far this year .

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Treasury prices turned up late Monday, pushing yields down slightly, as companies took advantage of the calm to line up once again to sell debt. The week’s major events don’t begin until Wednesday, leaving open a good window for companies to take advantage of still relatively low borrowing costs.

Yields on 10-year notes (US:10_YEAR) turned down 2 basis points to 1.66%, after increasing to 1.69% earlier.

Thirty-year bond yields (US:30_YEAR) fell 1 [...]

If the assertion is that the consumer is strengthening, even in the face of accelerating unemployment, I find it difficult to believe, though it would be great if it were true. However, The following shows that it likely is not :

From WSJ 4/27/12
Angry Analysts Scorch P&G CEO
The analysts showed little restraint in venting their frustration after
P&G lowered its profit outlook and said it would roll back recent
attempts to raise prices in key markets.

Is Sears Headed for Bankruptcy?
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool
Posted 10:30AM 12/29/11

Shares of Sears Holdings (SHLD)
fell 27% on Tuesday, as a whopping 9.6 million shares exchanged hands
on news that the struggling retailer would close as many as [...]