1.   American Capital Access Corp. has a new brand of bond insurance that could lower borrowing costs for small municipal borrowers, and that has some money managers hopping mad.

2.   An increase in interest rates would make borrowing less attractive by increasing corporate and consumer borrowing costs.

3.   As a result, borrowing costs for homebuyers could head lower, boosting demand for houses, said Fleet Financial chief economist Nick Perna.

4.   As government debt yields decrease, borrowing costs for companies and consumers also decline, making it easier for businesses to expand and people to buy.

5.   As borrowing costs fall, profit for big lenders and borrowers alike tend to rise.

6.   Banks, whose profits tend to do best when borrowing costs are low, were among the biggest losers.

7.   Besides boosting company borrowing costs, higher interest rates can slow economic growth by lowering consumer demand for credit to buy homes and goods.

8.   Bond yields are used as benchmarks to set borrowing costs.

9.   A drop in Treasury bond yields, which are used to set borrowing costs, helped to lift shares.

10.   A drop in Treasury bond yields, which are used to set borrowing costs, helped to lift bank shares.