NEW YORK — Treasury prices rose Monday as stocks fell and anxiety returned to the markets about the financial health of U.S. companies.

The worries come ahead of a slew of corporate earnings out this week. If fourth-quarter results are poor, government debt might look like a more attractive investment despite the huge amount of supply coming into the market.

However, although demand for government debt remains high, the squeezed credit markets are showing signs of thawing.

Corporate bond sales are rebounding sharply. Last week, issuance totaled $41 billion, the highest weekly amount in eight months, pointed out Miller Tabak & Co. analyst Tony Crescenzi. To be sure, many of the bonds issued were backed by the U.S. government; still, it was a positive signal coming out of market that was nearly frozen late last year.

Yields on corporate bonds have been retreating as well. That means companies issuing debt to finance their operations will not have to pay as much interest to investors as they would have if they tried to sell bonds late last year.

The rate declines are occurring in both investment-grade bonds and speculative grade _ or "junk" _ bonds, according to Standard & Poor's.

Meanwhile, lending rates between banks fell further on Monday. The London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, on three-month loans in dollars fell by about 0.10 percentage points to a near five-year low of 1.16 percent, according to the British Bankers' Association.

As the Dow Jones industrial average slumped 125 points, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 25/32 to 112 18/32, and its yield fell to 2.31 percent from 2.40 percent late Friday. Yields move opposite prices.

The two-year note was flat at 110 8/32, and its yield was unchanged at 0.75 percent. The 30-year bond rose 1 15/32 to 129 7/32, and its yield fell to 3.00 percent from 3.06 percent.

The yield on the three-month T-bill _ viewed as an extremely safe short-term investment _ was slightly lower at 0.06 percent. The discount rate was 0.07 percent.