Spain raises $5.3 billion in strong debt sale

Spain OKs 2011 austerity budget, saving PM his job
MADRID (AP) - Spain's Parliament passed an Austerity Budget for 2011 by a razor-thin margin on Tuesday, saving embattled Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero his job and giving him a victory in his bid to convince markets that the nation will take control of its finances and avoid a Greek style-bailout. The lower house of Congress passed the Budget in a 177-171 vote, approving a euro122 billion ($160.4 billion) 2011 spending plan that cuts spending 8 percent compared with 2010 and sets f...

Greeks strike before austerity budget vote
By Renee Maltezou and Ingrid Melander Athens | Wed Dec 22, 2010 7:39am EST Athens (Reuters) - Greeks staged a three-hour general strike in Athens on Wednesday against the 2011 Budget which imposes yet more Austerity on the Debt-laden nation, but parliament was set to pass the bill later in the day anyway. Public transport ground to a halt in the city, but some Greeks questioned the point of countless strikes and Protests this year which have failed to divert the government from an Austerity p...

Greeks strike before austerity budget vote
Athens (Reuters) - Greeks staged a three-hour general strike in Athens on Wednesday against the 2011 Budget which imposes yet more Austerity on the Debt-laden nation, but parliament was set to pass the bill later in the day anyway. Public transport ground to a halt in the city, but some Greeks questioned the point of countless strikes and Protests this year which have failed to divert the government from an Austerity path demanded by the nation's EU/IMF Bailout. At the same time the series of s...

Greeks strike before austerity budget vote
By Renee Maltezou and Ingrid Melander Athens | Wed Dec 22, 2010 7:39am EST Athens (Reuters) - Greeks staged a three-hour general strike in Athens on Wednesday against the 2011 Budget which imposes yet more Austerity on the Debt-laden nation, but parliament was set to pass the bill later in the day anyway. Public transport ground to a halt in the city, but some Greeks questioned the point of countless strikes and Protests this year which have failed to divert the government from an Austerity p...

A Warning to Portugal as Spain Sells Bonds
MADRID (Reuters) — Yields at Spain’s final Debt auction of the year were higher than the rates at an equivalent sale a month ago, and analysts warned of tough times ahead in 2011 even as the country slashed its state Deficit. Tuesday’s auctions came shortly after Moody’s, the Ratings agency, put Portugal on review for a possible downgrade, almost a week after doing the same to Spain, and having cut Ireland by five notches last week. At the Debt issues, Spain’s Tre...

Greeks go on strike before austerity budget vote
Athens | Wed Dec 22, 2010 5:21am EST Athens (Reuters) - Greek Unions called a general strike on Wednesday and Athens was paralyzed by a 24-hour public transport stoppage in Protest against the government's 2011 Budget, set to pass later as part of an EU/IMF Bailout. The Budget, meant to help stem a Debt crisis that has shaken the euro zone, includes further tax hikes and wage cuts in state-run enterprises, especially in public transport. Fitch said on Tuesday it may cut Greece's Credit Rating...

Spain sees strong demand in debt sale
Spain has raised nearly €4 billion ($5.3 billion) in an oversubscribed auction of 3- and 6-month bills, as Parliament prepares to pass a Deficit-cutting Budget for 2011. In the last auction of the year the Treasury sold €3 billion Tuesday in 3-month bonds at an average Interest Rate of 1.8 percent, compared with 1.7 percent in the last such sale in November. The auction was 2.14 times oversubscribed. The agency also sold €877 million in 6-month bonds at an average interest rate...

China ready to buy $5.3 billion of Portugal debt: report
Lisbon | Wed Dec 22, 2010 4:54am EST Lisbon (Reuters) - China is ready to buy between 4 billion Euros ($5.26 billion) and 5 billion Euros of Portuguese sovereign Debt to help the country ward off pressure in Debt markets, the Jornal de Negocios daily reported on Wednesday. The paper added, without citing sources, that a deal reached between the two governments will lead to China buying Portuguese Debt in auctions or in the secondary markets during the First Quarter of 2011. Portugal has moved...

Greeks go on strike before austerity budget vote
Athens | Wed Dec 22, 2010 3:27am EST Athens (Reuters) - Greek Unions called a general strike on Wednesday and Athens was paralyzed by a 24-hour public transport stoppage in Protest against the government's 2011 Budget, set to pass later as part of an EU/IMF Bailout. The Budget, meant to help stem a Debt crisis that has shaken the euro zone, includes further tax hikes and wage cuts in state-run enterprises, especially in public transport. Fitch said on Tuesday it may cut Greece's Credit Rating...

Greece to vote on 2011 austerity budget
Greek lawmakers on Wednesday wrap a five-day debate on a Budget containing over 14 billion Euros in savings under a tough Austerity policy imposed after the country's Bailout by the EU and the IMF. The Socialist Government of George Papandreou has a six-seat majority in parliament and is expected to carry the vote to be held after midnight. The 2011 Budget includes cuts in the badly mismanaged Greek health sector and public companies, a two-percent increase in the lower Sales Tax rate from 11 to...

Protests in Athens before austerity budget vote
Protests and rubbish clogged central Athens on Wednesday as lawmakers prepared to approve an Austerity Budget under a tough economic overhaul imposed after the Debt-hit country's international Bailout. Unionists, Communists and leftists staged separate demonstrations to reject the economic blueprint containing over 14 billion Euros in savings for 2011 in a bid to restore balance to Greece's woeful public finances. The streets of the capital were already clogged with traffic since morning from a ...

Portugal faces threat of credit rating downgrade
A Protester dances in Lisbon last month during the general strike that gripped Portugal as workers showed their anger over Austerity measures. Photograph: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images Portugal was hit with the threat of a Credit Rating downgrade this morning over fears that its Austerity cutbacks will hurt Economic Growth next year. Just days after slashing Ireland's Credit Rating by five notches, Moody's warned it has put Portugal's rating on review for a possible downgrade. The agency ...

Spanish 3.88 Billion T-Bill Auction Results: Weak Despite China Support
: Spain sold 3.88 billion Euros ($5.1 billion) of three- and six-month Treasury Bills, near the maximum target, as borrowing costs rose amid lingering concern the nation will struggle to fund its Deficit. The Treasury auctioned 3 billion Euros of 84-day bills at an average yield of 1.804 percent, the Bank of Spain said today in Madrid. That compares with 1.743 percent when the securities were last issued on Nov. 23. The government sold 876.7 million Euros of 175-day Debt at 2.597 percent, up fro...

Berlusconi Cites Debt Crisis in Fight to Survive: Euro Credit
Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Silvio Berlusconi’s fight for his political life enters its final round today with the Italian premier using the European Debt crisis as a shield. “We could become targets of international speculators like Greece, Ireland and Portugal, a tragic risk with disastrous consequences,” Berlusconi told supporters in Naples on Dec. 5. “The Ratings agencies have confirmed our top rating but have said that it’s conditional on maintaining political stabi...

Ireland's credit rating slashed five notches (by private company that helped precipitate the country's crisis)
© Peter Morrison/AP Thousands of demonstrators march through Dublin last month to Protest against Budget cuts and the EU-IMF Bailout. Moody's downgrades Ireland's Credit Rating and maintains 'negative' outlook on concerns cuts will hurt domestic demand Ireland's Credit Rating has been slashed by five notches by Moody's, which also warned that the country faced an increasingly uncertain economic future. Moody's said that the cost of rescuing Ireland's banking sector meant Irish Debt was ...

Moody's may cut Portugal on growth, debt concerns
Lisbon | Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:47am EST Lisbon (Reuters) - Moody's Investor Service said on Tuesday it may downgrade Portugal's A1 rating by one or two notches after a review as it cited concerns about the country's weak growth prospects and high borrowing costs. The Ratings agency said it had concerns about Portugal's ability to access capital markets at a sustainable price and cited "uncertainties about Portugal's longer-term economic vitality, which will be exacerbated by the impact of fiscal...

Interest rates rise in Spanish bond sale
Spain had to pay higher Interest Rates to raise 3.876 billion Euros via a bond sale Tuesday as investors remained nervous about whether the country may need a Debt rescue like Greece and Ireland. The treasury sold 3.0 billion Euros (3.9 billion US dollars) of three-month bills at an average yield of 1.804 percent, compared with 1.743 percent when the securities were last sold on November 23, The Economy ministry said. It also sold 876 million Euros of six-month bills at 2.597 percent compared wi...

Europe warns of pain for Allied Irish creditors
By Carmel Crimmins DUBLIN | Tue Dec 21, 2010 2:49pm EST DUBLIN (Reuters) - Allied Irish Banks' (ALBK.I) junior bondholders will have to take a big hit in a future restructuring, the European Commission warned on Tuesday as it rubber-stamped billions of Euros in state aid for Irish banks. Brussels' threat triggered a fall in Irish Sovereign Debt, stoking fears the continuing Financial Crisis means more pain, including the spectre of forced discounts for investors, despite an 85 billion euro ($...

World's richest lottery spreads Christmas cheer
Spain's annual Christmas lottery, which has the world's largest total payout, gave out 2.32 billion Euros ($3.05 billion) in prizes to hundreds of lucky winners across the country, which has Europe's highest jobless rate. The top prize of the lottery dubbed "El Gordo" or "The Fat One" went to holders of tickets bearing the number 79250. The winning number appears on 1950 tickets, each of which won 300,000 ($394,000). It was sold in several Spanish cities including Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante....

China ready to buy $5.3 billion of Portugal debt: report
The paper said, without citing any sources, that a deal reached between the two governments will lead to China buying Portuguese Debt in auctions or in the secondary markets during the First Quarter of 2011. China's Central Bank declined to comment on the report. The euro rose to the day's high versus The Dollar on Wednesday on the back of the report, climbing around 30 pips to a session high of $1.3168 according to Reuters data. Portugal has moved into the eye of the storm in Europe's Debt cri...

Not such a good yearFinance
We all know that spending more than you earn is a bad idea. It is doable for as long as your creditors will put up with it. And then they won’t. At this point California and Illinois are running into that wee problem. Iceland already has, Ireland is being put through the wringer. Ontarioiaro and Quebec are looking likely for the block. The reality is that you can sell bonds if you are solvent. People will buy the income stream. However, at a certain point, when you are building really du...

Strike hits Greece ahead of vote
Greece crisis: Is there an exit? Public transport Unions have staged a further strike in Greece as the country's parliament prepares to vote on the 2011 Budget. The 24-hour strike has caused traffic chaos in Athens as commuters struggled to get to work by car or taxi. Unions are protesting over cuts to wages, which are part of a national Austerity programme. The budget, which is designed to satisfy bail-out requirements by the EU and IMF, is expected to pass. The strike includes public tr...

The Net Impact of the Tax Deal
Dean Baker says the impact of the tax Compromise may not be as large as you've been led to believe: Obama's tax deal: read the small print, by Dean Baker: ...While The Economy will do better with this tax package..., much of the discussion has exaggerated the potential stimulus to the economy. First, it is important to remember that although the total package is scored as costing almost $900bn over two years, almost everything in this package simply leaves in place current Tax Rates an...

Moody's warns of lowering Portuguese debt rating
Moody's warned on Tuesday it may lower by one or two notches Portugal's A1 rating owing to uncertainty about growth and borrowing prospects, but said it expected Lisbon to be able to pay its Debts. "In Moody's opinion, Portugal's solvency is not in question," Anthony Thomas, Moody's Vice President and lead analyst for Portugal was quoted as saying in a statement. Moody's emphasised its concern over Portugal's growth prospects, which will affect its long-term ability to repay debts, rather than m...

Moody's warns of lowering Portuguese debt rating
PARIS (AFP) – Moody's warned on Tuesday it may lower by one or two notches Portugal's A1 rating owing to uncertainty about growth and borrowing prospects, but said it expected Lisbon to be able to pay its Debts. "In Moody's opinion, Portugal's solvency is not in question," Anthony Thomas, Moody's Vice President and lead analyst for Portugal was quoted as saying in a statement. "But the likely deterioration in debt affordability over the medium term and ...