A specter is haunting Wall Street--the specter of runaway interest rates. Yields on bellwether U.S. 30-year Treasury bonds in early June jumped to just over 6%, the highest close in more than a year, as nervous traders bid prices lower. They are taking no chances that a flare-up of inflation will squeeze the real return to buyers.
But in the gloom-and-doom scenario, the Federal Reserve Board will not be satisfied with such modest rate hikes. In order to nip in the bud any renewal of inflation, the Fed will begin an aggressive tightening of credit and deliberately push interest rates much...