MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Spain faces a “crisis of huge proportion” with “terrible figures”
Unemployment is up to 24% and sales slumped for the twenty first month running Spain's sickly economy faces a “crisis of huge proportions” said Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo as unemployment hit its highest level in two decades and Standard and Poor's weighed in with a two-notch downgrade of the government's debt.
Spain's unemployment rate shot up to 24% in the first quarter, the highest level since the early 1990s and one of the worst jobless figures in the world. Retail sales slumped for the twenty-first consecutive month.
“The figures are terrible for everyone and terrible for the government ... Spain is in a crisis of huge proportions,” he said in a radio interview.
Spain has slipped into its second recession in three years putting it back in the centre of the euro zone debt crisis storm.
Likewise Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating on Spain by two notches, citing expectations the government finances will deteriorate even more than previously thought as a result of a contracting economy and an ailing banking sector.
The ratings agency, which downgraded Spain to BBB-plus from A, also put a negative outlook on the credit and said Spain's situation could deteriorate further unless ambitious measures were taken at European level.
“We think risks are rising to fiscal performance and flexibility, and to the sovereign debt burden, particularly in light of the increased contingent liabilities that could materialize on the government's balance sheet” S&P said in a statement.
It was the first downgrade for Spain since Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy took office in December.
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Read all commentsSpaniards! As we did under your difficult times under Franco, we will welcome you with open arms to give you shelter, jobs and a lifeline until your crisis is dealt with, disregarding the fact that you closed your borders under our last crisis. We know you were under the influence of external pressure...
Apr 28th, 2012 - 08:01 am 0Argentina showed its fraternal solidarity with the 'mother country' in its hour of need by stealing its YPF stake from Repsol.
Apr 28th, 2012 - 08:40 am 0What else do you expect from the Argie crooks ! The British/Falklanders are a different proposition altogether.We will NEVER trust Argentina no matter how sweetly Alicia Castro smiles.
@2 Yes, because Repsol, as a good solidaric multinational, where in the middle of doing a Robin Hood (taking from rich Argentina and giving to poor Spain), when CFK intervened... Those rumouurs saying they were taking Arg resources to fill their own pockets are terrorist/communist/socialist/narco barons bad, bad lies...
Apr 28th, 2012 - 09:09 am 0Timeline
1976-1983: CIA backed Arg dictatorship, military takes control of YPF and runs up a debt of 6 billion USD.
1992 YPF is generating an annual loss of 200M USD
1993 Arg is forced to privatize YPF as there is no money to uphold the company, dictatorship has sacked the country and left nothing but enormous debts.
1998 Repsol buys most of YPF at a price that equals 9 months of production
Morale: NO MORE SELLOUTS
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