Fixed income markets saw widespread volatility as the turmoil affecting financial institutions intensified. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection, the US Treasury effectively nationalised Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Lloyds TSB agreed to buy HBOS. The US$700bn rescue plan proposed by the US Treasury was rejected by Congress, causing further extreme levels of volatility. In credit markets, spreads over government bonds widened sharply.September saw European high-yield bonds post an 11.3% fall in local currency terms, the worst monthly return since June 2001. While government bonds benefited from flights-to-quality, yields on the 10-year benchmark issues were little changed over the month although short-dated issues saw their yields fall sharply.UK interest rates were held at 5.0% for the fifth consecutive month. Despite annual CPI inflation rising to the highest level in 16 years at 4.7%, weakening macroeconomic data saw expectations for interest-rate cuts increase.