Avast! European debt shivers timbers, hoists 30-yarrr Treasury bonds

Ahoy! Landlubbers at the US Department of Booty sold $13 billion worth of 30-yarrr bonds at a record low yield of 3.31 percent last week, as investors be weighin' anchor from European marrrrrkets.

Investors be hangin' the jib over Europe's debt crisis and the volatility of US stocks, seeking refuge in low-risk investments like a bilge rat hidin' in the scuppers. Picaroons and scallywags alike expect the US government this fall to be buyin' long-term Treasury bonds, me bucko.

With the US economy saggin' lower than a becalmed lugsail, the Fed hopes that reducin' long-term interest rates will push investors to spend their doubloons on stocks.

Also drivin' the rush to low-risk investments be a disappointing report on retail sails, showing a drop in consumer confidence, particularly as it pertains to sales of eypatches, parrots, cutlasses, and tricorne hats with feathered trim.