Spain downgraded, Europe debt crisis widens

www.ap.org
Another Source

BERLIN – Europe's debt crisis mushroomed Wednesday as Spain saw its credit rating lowered, just as Germany sought to reassure nervous investors that Greece would not be allowed to go under, saying Berlin's share of a key aid package could be approved in the next few days.

Stock and bond markets had begun to regain their composure after stinging downgrades of Greece and Portugal the day before, when Standard & Poors delivered more bad news by cutting Spain's rating to AA from AA+ amid concerns about the country's growth prospects following the collapse of a construction bubble.

"We now believe that the Spanish economy's shift away from credit-fuelled economic growth is likely to result in a more protracted period of sluggish activity than we previously assumed," Standard & Poor's credit analyst Marko Mrsnik said.

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[edit on 4-28-2010 by worldwatcher]

the mods r gonna tell u to cite that by the way. holy mackeral!! i was unaware of this downgrade today, most interesting... greece spain and portugal in the last 24 hours have seen their credits downgraded... EU is in trouble...

Ah, convenient, US crashes the whole burrito, but is saved in the end by its own initial
destructive path on down the road. Boys our toilet paper can fetch a pack of smokes
again!!!

Sounds like the TPM, I mean the GOP, I mean, IDK...

There is a lot of falling apart going on right now.....

Its not the end of the world but its making for some unsettling times.....

Originally posted by AlwaysQuestion
There is a lot of falling apart going on right now.....

Its not the end of the world but its making for some unsettling times.....

woops wrong post sorry people anyway All I can say about this economic disaster is time to invest in gold.

[edit on 28-4-2010 by EarthquakeNewMadrid2010]

This is why i rejoice everyday that the UK is not with the euro.

WHY is ATS so quiet on this news? I've expected to come on here and find it flooded with news and discussions about this. But hardly anything?

I guess the majority would rather discuss who in their latest opinion is a reptilian shape shifter

Originally posted by jonny2410
This is why i rejoice everyday that the UK is not with the euro.

But our banks have £100 billion exposure to these countries, so we're in the # as well.

Ready to bailout Barclays this time, and RBS again???

[edit on 28-4-2010 by john124]

Greek debt crisis reaction: 'This could be bigger than anyone thought'

'It feels like when the run on the banks started,' warns one City bond trader

City traders are counting the cost of a tumultous two days of activity as Greece's sovereign debt problems threatened to mushroom into a wider financial crisis.

"The mood in here is not quite as bad as it was after Lehman Brothers went under, but that's hardly a reason to celebrate," said one City bond trader. "But there's the same sense of not knowing how bad the contagion might get: sterling's taking a battering, bond spreads are widening dramatically, gold's flying again as investors flock to safe havens and bank lending across the EU is constricting, raising fears of another credit crunch."

Nobody predicted it (except Celente)

UK in real trouble now as well:

* Business * Banking Debt crisis: UK banks sitting on £100bn exposure to Greece, Spain and Portugal

Shares in UK lenders slide amid fears of renewed credit crunch but French, German and Swiss most at risk from Greek default

Fears of a fresh banking crisis stalked the markets today as the risk of Greece defaulting on its debt repayments raised concerns about the exposure of major banks to indebted countries in Europe.

As analysts estimated that Britain's banks have a combined exposure of £100bn to Greece, Portugal and Spain – the three countries causing most concern on the financial markets – the Financial Services Authority was closely watching the markets and assessing exposures to the vulnerable countries.

Analysts at Credit Suisse calculated that UK banks had £25bn of exposure to Greece and Portugal but £75bn to Spain, where the collapse in the property market has already forced banks such as Barclays to admit to bad debt problems and left Royal Bank of Scotland facing questions about its exposure.

Much of the anxiety was targeted at French, German and Swiss banks. Howard Wheeldon, of BGC Partners, said: "If Greece defaults that means the pressure will then be felt and exerted on national banks that hold the Greek debt. That includes very many German, French and Swiss banks and it just may be that with so many banks involved one of these might just go down."

Some fatcats are gonna' have trouble sleeping tonight!

[edit on 28-4-2010 by john124]

Do you guys also now that spain in the 2nd division of there football, the players for the teams have not been paid for a year.

There are strike talks etc....

Originally posted by jonny2410
This is why i rejoice everyday that the UK is not with the euro.

What kind of Rejoicing do you do?

The freaky kind where you hurt yourself or do you get down on your knees and cry out?



In fairness to the Pound.. while it has lost substantial value, its the epitome of British stubbornness and will hopefully remain to be an important currency

Weird times alright.. funny thing about it is those grading companies are in bed with/owned by Goldman Sachs who's latest great profitable venture is betting against the EUROZONE states that are have high public debt..

Its all games in order to hide the dollars fallibility.. The only thing is, if they actually end up crashing the EURO, its going to be a bottomless pit of Global write offs.. Bye bye global economy..

Has it ever been a time where 3 countries got there credit rating downgraded in 2 days???so if we are all tied together in a global economy who is the next dominoe to go Ireland maybe

reply to post by alchemist2012


The difference with Ireland is that even though its deficit still isn't down to guideline levels, its National Debt to GDP ratio is 36% less than that of Greece, in fact, its more in line with that of France so its a different ball game.

The Downgrading of Spain is a big wake up call to the EU and the entire west.. Spain is a trillion Euro economy... A big fish..

What happened to greece in 2010 ? How come nobody paid attention to greece's debt before , then all of a sudden when the south stream was about to be built, the whole EU started paying attention to Greece's debt. How come ?

What happened between 2009 and 2010 ? Economic warfare against Russia didn't go so well maybe ?

a reply to: Flanker86

I'm guessing it was probably something to do with the North European Royal Families - probably the Dutch - the swines - and/or the EU/NATO?

Do I win a prize?

The real problem here is the central bank's and the centralization of currency

Bad idea.