Spain: A new thorn in the flesh
Spain is much larger in size then Greece and is in fact the fourth largest economy in the Euro, after Germany, France and Italy. The sheer size of its economy makes a crisis in the country a very frightening prospect, that is sure to plunge the eurozone into turmoil.
The country's mounting debt is not only worrying, but the Spanish government's borrowing costs which are slowly heading towards 7% makes for a disaster. In fact, at 7% borrowing costs debts would not be sustainable.
To compound the country's misery is unemployment. The country's jobless rate rose to 24.4% in the first quarter, from 22.9% in the fourth quarter of last year, inching toward its highest level on record. The country's stock market on Wednesday hit a nine year low.
S&P had downgraded Spanish government debt to triple-B-plus from single-A. S&P cited a worse-than-expected deterioration of Spain's budget.
One of the country's top banks Bankia had to be nationalised, after it ran into massive problems. Banks in Spain continue to be in a weak spot and the government's own finances are precarious which is pushing the country into seeking international assistance.
Spain like Greece is now proving to be a thorn in the flesh, not only for Europe but the entire globe. Global markets crashed on Wednesday following a rise in borrowing costs for Spain.
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