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Eurozone crisis accelerates in Portugal, Spain and Ireland
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Eurozone crisis accelerates in Portugal, Spain and Ireland
AFP - 1 hour 44 minutes ago
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LISBON (AFP) - – The eurozone debt crisis rose several notches on Wednesday with a general strike in Portugal, pressure on Spain and attacks on the Irish government as it was to present radical austerity measures.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood by the Irish rescue but repeated her hard line that big changes were needed in the eurozone, and analysts wondered if Germany might eventually want to abandon the single currency.
Portugal, regarded in financial markets as possibly the third eurozone country after Greece and Ireland to need a rescue, faced nationwide protests against ever deeper budget rigour to correct public finances.
Unions in Portugal said the "mobilisation of the workers is enormous" and the strike was having a "massive impact", but the main opposition party said it would not block the 2011 budget on Friday.
The euro fell to around 1.33 dollars, partly also because of support for the dollar amid tensions on the Korean peninsular, and the rate which Spain must pay to borrow shot up to record levels.
One bright spot was a rally for European stocks and even Spanish shares which had fallen sharply for two days, edged up.
Daiwa Capital Markets in London commented that markets were "seemingly now looking for an assistance package for Portugal and, increasingly, for Spain."
In Germany, the powerhouse and increasingly the paymaster of the eurozone, Merkel stood by her line that investors must share the cost of bailouts, a demand which set the latest tension in motion three weeks ago.
"Do politicians have the courage to also make those who earn a profit take some of the risk?", she told the German parliament referring to what happens at the end of temporary bailout arrangements, set up when Greece was rescued.
She also said, however: "We have said that the stability of the euro as a whole must be guaranteed and therefore we will ... consider the appeal of Ireland positively."
Financial markets showed rapidly rising alarm at the prospect that even Spain, the fifth-biggest economy in the EU, might need help but that a rescue for such a big economy could overwhelm the eurozone in its current form.
The rate which Spain has to pay to borrow for 10 years rose above 5.0 percent for the first time since 2002 and to a record gap above the German borrowing rate, a critical indicator of alarm.
Similar rising bond yields occurred when Greece and Ireland fell on the slippery slope towards bailouts.
European Union President Herman Van Rompuy tried to ease fears that debt-stricken Ireland's troubles would spread to Portugal and other weak eurozone countries.
"If we are told that there is contagion, it is not on an economic basis, it is not on a rational basis," Van Rompuy told the European Parliament.
The European Commission also tried to calm nerves raised by comments from German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble that the euro was "at stake" in the Irish crisis and Merkel that Europe was in an "extraordinarily serious situation".
EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn believes "this is not about the future of the euro," said his spokesman Amadeu Altafaj.
But in an additional blow to the Irish-eurozone climate, credit rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded Irish debt overnight because although the rescue ensured that cash was available, it increased government borrowing.
Analysts for investors who fund government debt discussed the risk that public hostility to cuts might derail austerity programmes, and also if ultimately Germany might push weak members out of the eurozone or leave itself.
Capital Economics in London, for example, issued a note saying, that if Germany did not obtain the changes it wanted in the EU and eurozone "it may decide to cut its losses and leave monetary union" which would weaken the euro.
Or it might get its way but some weaker countries might not like the effects and "then choose to leave", which might eventually result in a strong euro.
Ireland is also a focus of deep concern, as evidenced by the ratings downgrade, despite the rescue agreed in principle at the weekend and expected to total about 85.0 billion euros, but for which details are awaited. Moody's rating agency has said it might have to downgrade Irish debt.
The government headed by Brian Cowen was presenting on Wednesday extra new but unpopular austerity measures expected to total 15.0 billion euros (20 billion dollars) which are tied to the rescue. They are part of a budget due to be passed on December 7.
But opposition parties are demanding a general election even earlier than the one early next year promised by Cowen, casting doubts on whether the budget will be approved.
Daiwa Capital Markets warned that failure to pass the budget would "certainly threaten" the payment of rescue money.
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