News/Debt Management
Bailout package offers hope for Portugal
Lisbon accepts €78 billion bailout as part of deal to reduce deficit to 3% of GDP by 2013; analysts say preliminary terms of deal positive for sovereign
S&P puts Japan on negative outlook
Standard and Poor’s places Japan’s long-term credit rating on negative outlook; Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa forecasts economy will contract in first two quarters
Greece deficit revision sparks default concerns from analysts
Eurostat revises Greece’s deficit to GDP upwards by almost a percentage point; analysts reiterate need for Greece to restructure debt
Standard & Poor's changes US outlook to negative
Ratings agency cites growing deficit and debt as rationale behind the change
Greek budget cuts raise default concerns
Markets prepare for the worst as Athens unveils new tougher austerity measures; IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn says cuts are necessary
Stress tests motivate Moody’s Ireland downgrade
Moody’s downgrades Ireland two notches to Baa3 after stress tests force Irish government to allocate additional funds to banks
Iceland in talks to avoid downgrade following 'no' vote
Governor Már Guðmundsson talks to rating agencies after Icelanders reject second Icesave deal
Greek debt still the most risky: CMA survey
CMA labels Greek sovereign debt as most risky in the world, second quarter in a row; countries elsewhere in Western Europe performed the best
New York Fed auctions off first AIG-related mortgage bonds
New York Federal Reserve sells $1.3 billion of American International Group (AIG) mortgage securities in the first round of auctions
Ireland’s Elderfield: we’ll not haircut senior debt
Matthew Elderfield, Ireland’s head regulator, assures senior bondholders in four banks they will not face “action”
Risk Europe: S&P slammed for linking Greece, Portugal downgrades to ESM
Eurozone bail-out vehicle doesn't hurt existing bondholders, EC official argues
Moody’s downgrades Portugal again
Moody’s cuts Portugal’s credit rating by one notch to Baa1 as political uncertainty continues to cloud medium-term financing
IMF paper urges policymakers to address sovereign rating spillovers
Policymakers must account for risks posed by spillover effects of sovereign rating downgrades; contingency plan recommended to deal with possible instability
Irish minister makes fresh bondholder threat
ECB executive board member critical of Ireland’s plans to impose losses on senior bondholders in Irish lenders; new stress test results on Thursday to develop the governments’ plans
Portuguese CDS spreads climb after austerity measures voted down
The EU prepares itself for another sovereign bail-out after Portuguese parliament rejects tax rises and budget cuts
S&P downgrades Bahrain
Standard and Poor’s downgrades Bahrain’s credit rating two notches to BBB amid continued political unrest
Moody’s Portugal downgrade sparks further speculation of bailout
Moody’s cuts Portugal’s credit rating by two notches to A3 on weaker growth prospects; analyst says bailout expected in coming months
ECB’s Bini Smaghi proposes single eurozone bond issuing agency
European Central Bank executive board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi backs proposals for single eurozone government bond issuer; says agency could pave the way for a single European bond
Moody’s lowers Greece's credit rating
Greece's credit rating moved from B1 to Ba1 while spreads rise across eurozone periphery
Canada pressed to develop inflation market
Current issuance of inflation-linked bonds is too meagre to meet demand from domestic and international investors, say market participants
Ivory Coast defaults on $2.3 billion eurobond payment
Ivory Coast fails to make January 31 deadline on payment to credit holders; analyst says political situation must be addressed before payment can be made
S&P downgrades Japan
Standard and Poor's downgrades Japan by one notch to AA– on fears that aging population places greater fiscal burden on Tokyo
New highs for CDS spreads on Ireland and Belgium
The cost of insuring against Irish and Belgian state defaults reaches unprecedented levels
SNB rejects Irish debt as collateral
Swiss National Bank excludes Irish sovereign debt and that of some Irish banks from list of collateral eligible for open market operations