Cost of insuring German and Italian debt jumps

The cost of insuring against a default on German and Italian government debt jumped to record levels as Italy’s downgrade signalled Europe’s debt crisis is spreading.

Credit-default swaps protecting Germany’s bonds rose 4.5 basis points to 94.5 as of 10 a.m. in London, while contracts tied to Italy jumped 22 basis points to 510 basis points, according to CMA.

Standard & Poor’s cut Italy’s rating, saying that weakening growth, a “fragile” government and ...