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REITs are often seen to be very similar to utility stocks. However, the current financial crisis -which has its roots in the U.S. housing market -has raised some doubts regarding this classification. We re-examine the relationship between REITs and utility stocks analyzing data from the United States and document the existence of a massive structural break in February 2007. Our results indicate that investing in U.S. REITs recently has become more risky relative to investments in utility stocks. This change coincides with the current economic and financial crisis.

Purpose This paper aims to briefly review the literature on interest rate convergence and the European debt crisis with a special focus on the current fiscal problems of some governments in Europe. Design/methodology/approach Relevant empirical papers are identified and reviewed focusing on time series analysis techniques. Findings The introduction of the euro has caused interest rate convergence among European Monetary Union (EMU) government bond yields. However, now sovereign credit risk and possibly even redenomination risk have caused divergences in European bond markets. Research limitations/implications A major limitation is that a relatively new field of the literature is surveyed. However, there are enough papers of relevance. This review paper could therefore be helpful in finding new approaches for additional empirical research examining the EMU bond market. Originality/value The results of empirical studies in a relatively new field of the literature are summarized. There meanwhile are some relevant papers. A brief survey of the results of these papers is provided. Important empirical findings with regard to interest rate convergence, sovereign credit risk and redenomination risk in the EMU are discussed and evaluated. The review is especially helpful for researchers and practitioners in the field of managerial finance and risk managers in the financial services industry.

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