Bankia, Spain’s fourth-largest bank, has suspended trading of its shares as the board of directors plans to reformulate accounts for 2011 and then ask the government for a bailout of more than 15 billion euros.
The bank was partly nationalized two weeks ago and had the government inject 4.5 billion euros into the bank. Continue reading
Secrecy is surrounding an estimated 100 billion euro addition of emergency liquidity provided by the country’s central bank. The move was approved in secret by the European Central Bank.
The use of “Emergency Liquidity Assistance” to help weak economies has been a behind the scenes activity during the euro zone crisis. The ELA helped save the financial system in Ireland and is being used more extensively in Greece. Continue reading
Schools and universities in Spain closed in protest today because the government is planning to cut more than twenty percent from budgets.
The cuts, which will increase class sizes and require teachers to work more hours for the same pay, will force university tuition feeds to jump by more than twenty-five percent. Continue reading
Shares in the Spanish bank, Bankia, were down 14% after reports about the struggling bank’s finances.
The bank denied reports that customers had withdrawn over 1 billion euros from various accounts. The bank is set to be part-nationalized.
A Royal Bank of Scotland spokesman said that the problem is that the Spanish government cannot bear all the weight of the banks in Spain should they all fail at the same time. Continue reading
Greece, in the midst of a rash of suicides related to the country’s economic crisis, had their debt rating raised from “selective default” to “CCC”. After two bailouts, the Greek government has been described by Standard and Poor’s as having “alleviated near-term funding pressures.” Continue reading
Just hours after Standard & Poor’s downgraded Spain’s debt, the beleaguered nation reported a record high in unemployment.
Official figures show an employment rate of 24.4% with over 5.6 million people looking for work. Continue reading
The Dow Industrial Average fell 160 points Monday morning (1.2%) over concerns of economic instability in Europe and China.
Impending power changes in the French and Dutch governments are causing concern among world wide investors. Continue reading