Since his government collapsed, Sócrates has worked hard as acting prime minister to secure a now-essential bailout package with the European Union and International Monetary Fund to patch up Portugal’s debts and correct budget deficits that have crippled the country’s ability to borrow on international debt markets. This week, he achieved his objective: agreeing to a bailout with austerity measures very similar to those that opposition parties shot down in the parliament in March. “The government has today reached an agreement with the international institutions regarding the financial aid to our country,” Sócrates said in a televised address on Tuesday. “Naturally, there are no … [Read more...] about Portugal gets bailout as Sócrates eyes reelection
portugal bailout
Bailout beckons as Portugal’s Sócrates resigns
Try, try again… then quit. Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates stepped down late on Wednesday saying “today, I am convinced the country is lost,” after a last-ditch effort to push through new austerity measures and avoid a Greek-style bailout failed to win support in the Lisbon parliament. The resignation of Sócrates and his minority centre-left government effectively pushes Portugal into the arms of the European Union and the IMF, with many analysts now saying that the debt-laden Iberian state can do little to avoid following in the footsteps of Greece and Ireland, both of which were bailed out last year when their bond yields reached unsustainable levels. At around 7.8 percent, … [Read more...] about Bailout beckons as Portugal’s Sócrates resigns
Portugal’s debt: a tale of pride and prejudice
Borrowing costs on Portugal’s debt have hit a level that proved unsustainable for both Greece and Ireland, but Lisbon is refusing to countenance talk of an EU bailout. Can this small, recession-prone nation hold out much longer? Long lumped along with Ireland, Greece and Spain as one of the so-called PIGS, Portugal has so far managed to face down fears about its ability to service its debt better than many policymakers, economists and investors could have expected. Even as the yield on 10-year Portuguese bonds soared to 7.63 percent in mid-February –the highest level since the country became a founder member of the single currency at the end of the 1990s– and the European Central … [Read more...] about Portugal’s debt: a tale of pride and prejudice