Portugal

Moody’s cut Portugal by two notches to A3 and kept a negative outlook despite the recently announced fiscal tightening and despite the tentative plan to expand the EFSF. This downgrade really shouldn’t come as any surprise. As we wrote just…

European officials have reached an agreement in principle that falls well shy of the “comprehensive plan” officials had promised and is unlikely to provide investors with a sense of closure to the debt crisis that began in late 2009. Yet…

There have been two main surprises this year. The first is how the jasmine revolutions in MENA. It is one thing to recognize the fragility of those ancient regimes, it is another thing to watch a number of government's collapse. The second…

Portugal does not appear to have had the boom that Ireland and Spain had. Portugal's problem is the chronic grind loss of competitiveness due to high costs and low productivity. We note that Portugal's latest inflation reading of 3.6% in…

By Win Thin Portugal remains in the market spotlight as its 10-year yield remains above 7% for the 10th straight day. Furthermore, today Portugal’s 5-year yield broke above 7% for the first time and continues the pattern that we saw with…

By Win Thin There is no real news behind the recent underperformance of Portugal bonds, as it appears that markets are simply getting more nervous as the country’s 10-year yields stay above 7% for the fifth straight day today and for 10 of…

By Marc Chandler and the BBH Currency Strategy Team Europe’s debt crisis remains among the most important factors in the global capital markets. By some market-based measures, like interest rate spreads and credit default swap prices, the…

by Win Thin We think it’s worth commenting on Portuguese press report today that China has pledged to buy up to EUR4-5 bln ($5.2-6.5 bln) of Portugal sovereign debt. Purchases would be either in the primary or secondary markets and would…

from the BBH Currency Strategy Team Turnaround Tuesday appears to be in force today, with the dollar softer and EM firmer. However, ranges are fairly narrow as trading slows and markets thin ahead of the Christmas holiday. Euro staged a…

It seems like it’s only a matter of time before Portugal succumbs to the contagion. As seen in EM crises of the past, we simply cannot ignore the fact that contagion remains a very strong force and so we see little chance that Portugal…