Les, you are comparing us to places which are printing money to suppress their interest rates, or as in the current case of Germany which is negative IR due to flight from fear of complete collapse.
C'mon mate, you know 1.00% IRs aren't real.
regardless, ~3% IRs here in Aust are at historical lows, the law of equilibrium will ensure a return to norm.
as in the analogy of cheap beer, the alternative is ugly.
in fact 1% IRs was exactly what Greenspan did post 911, the result was more debt than the economy could service, the derivatives market facilitated the event, and the rest is history.
