Spain’s bond yields are no longer sustainable. Its government sold 10-year notes at 6.652%, up 19 basis points from the last auction.The deep financial troubles of its banks, a double dip recession, and unemployment of nearly 25% have made the chances Spain will need a bailout almost certain.
Economists wonder how many hundreds of billions of dollars this will require. The EU funding facility has about $700 billion. The IMF says it has another $270 billion to support EU national finances. But, those pools of money could be nearly exhausted by the financial needs of Spain.
That leaves the question of what happens if Portugal and even Italy get in deeper sovereign trouble.
Douglas A. McIntyre
