Are credit agencies on a weekly quota' There is Portugal followed by Hungary. Is there actual collusion' Fitch followed by Moodys. Is there an agency ombudsman' We can all agree that we are in this mess together and that we are all paying for it in some fashion. A solution requires us to work together, so there is a degree of responsibility on the agencies to be a a tad flexible in their reporting. Announcing that Hungary was downgraded after this week certainly was not going to be good for...
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was reportedly on the brink of resignation yesterday, which he swiftly denied, using the unusual political channel of Facebook. The news pushed yields on the benchmark Italian bonds towards the sort of levels that spelt the end for Portugal, Ireland and Greece. Mr Berlusconi's critics want him to move aside and appoint Mario Monti, an economist and technocrat to lead an interim government made up of external experts and some serving minsters that will...
The EU leaders' summit in Brussels took a center stage on Thursday. Participants agreed to provide a second bailout for Greece. The Eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund will make available a package worth about Euro109 billion ($155 billion). In addition, terms of all loans to Greece and Portugal will be extended from 7.5 years to at least 15 years, perhaps longer if necessary, and lending rates will be lowered from current 4.5%. Banks and other private investors will...
The Greek economic crisis continues to make headlines as Prime Minister George Papandreou attempts to maneuver the governments contentious ?austerity' bill through the Greek parliament. As predicted, protests against the government's plan to deliver nearly 30 billion euros in spending cuts and tax hikes have grown in intensity and the fear is that the debt crisis will not be contained within Greece's borders. Portugal's credit rating has been reduced to ?junk' status and Europe's banking...