Portugal Debt Crisis

Euro zone stocks remained well ahead of where they were at the start of the year before the European Central Bank (ECB) started printing money, and while government borrowing costs shot up in Europe's indebted southern countries - Italy, Spain and Portugal - they remained well below the heights scaled at the peak of the crisis in 2011/2012.

Portugal's prime minister defied calls to resign on Tuesday after his coalition government was rocked by a second Cabinet resignation in as many days over tough budget cuts that have sharply reduced living standards in one of the poorest countries that uses the euro.

Critics ridiculed European Union bureaucrats on Saturday for taking time off fighting the euro zone's debt crisis to impose strict new rules on how restaurants serve olive oil.

Heavily indebted euro zone nations such as Italy and Portugal could come under pressure to put their bullion reserves to work as a result of plans for Cyprus to sell gold to meet its financing needs.

Development aid from rich countries to some of the world's poorest fell for a second year in a row in 2012, as big European donor countries hit by years of debt crisis cut their spending.

International lenders struck a deal on Saturday to hand Cyprus a bailout worth 10 billion euros to stave off bankruptcy, a senior euro zone official said. Cyprus is the fifth country after Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain to turn to the euro zone for financial help in the wake of the sovereign debt crisis that started in 2010.

The European Union predicted Friday that the economy of the 17 member countries that use the euro will shrink again in 2013 even though it will see its fortunes improve in the second half of the year.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is warning Portugal against the temptation to relax its contentious austerity drive, saying any backsliding could undermine the 17-country eurozone's recovery.

When it came to helping out Greece, Ireland and Portugal, Germany grudgingly went along with its European partners and backed hundreds of billions in rescue loans. But now that tiny Cyprus is in trouble, German politicians for the first time appear in no mood to help - which could put the Mediterranean island country on the path to bankruptcy and o...

Spain is ready to request a euro zone bailout for its public finances as early as next weekend but Germany has signalled that it should hold off, European officials said on Monday.

The eurozone is grappling with sky-high debt levels and record unemployment of 11.2 per cent. Compared with the year before, the eurozone's economy is 0.4 per cent smaller. The region's economy would have slipped into recession had it not been for better-than-expected GDP figures from its two leading economies, Germany and France.

Here's what policymakers of the 27 countries in the European Union might consider to save the euro.

The island nation said it required assistance following "negative spillover effects through its financial sector, due to its large exposure in the Greek economy."

"This crisis is not over," said John Silvia of Wells Fargo. "The crisis will wax and wane for years."

Moody's Investors Service said that it may consider downgrading debt ratings for some eurozone nations if Spain seeks a bailout.

Euro zone stocks remained well ahead of where they were at the start of the year before the European Central Bank (ECB) started printing money, and while government borrowing costs shot up in Europe's indebted southern countries - Italy, Spain and Portugal - they remained well below the heights scaled at the peak of the crisis in 2011/2012.

Portugal's prime minister defied calls to resign on Tuesday after his coalition government was rocked by a second Cabinet resignation in as many days over tough budget cuts that have sharply reduced living standards in one of the poorest countries that uses the euro.

Critics ridiculed European Union bureaucrats on Saturday for taking time off fighting the euro zone's debt crisis to impose strict new rules on how restaurants serve olive oil.

Heavily indebted euro zone nations such as Italy and Portugal could come under pressure to put their bullion reserves to work as a result of plans for Cyprus to sell gold to meet its financing needs.

Development aid from rich countries to some of the world's poorest fell for a second year in a row in 2012, as big European donor countries hit by years of debt crisis cut their spending.

International lenders struck a deal on Saturday to hand Cyprus a bailout worth 10 billion euros to stave off bankruptcy, a senior euro zone official said. Cyprus is the fifth country after Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain to turn to the euro zone for financial help in the wake of the sovereign debt crisis that started in 2010.

The European Union predicted Friday that the economy of the 17 member countries that use the euro will shrink again in 2013 even though it will see its fortunes improve in the second half of the year.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is warning Portugal against the temptation to relax its contentious austerity drive, saying any backsliding could undermine the 17-country eurozone's recovery.

When it came to helping out Greece, Ireland and Portugal, Germany grudgingly went along with its European partners and backed hundreds of billions in rescue loans. But now that tiny Cyprus is in trouble, German politicians for the first time appear in no mood to help - which could put the Mediterranean island country on the path to bankruptcy and o...

Spain is ready to request a euro zone bailout for its public finances as early as next weekend but Germany has signalled that it should hold off, European officials said on Monday.

The eurozone is grappling with sky-high debt levels and record unemployment of 11.2 per cent. Compared with the year before, the eurozone's economy is 0.4 per cent smaller. The region's economy would have slipped into recession had it not been for better-than-expected GDP figures from its two leading economies, Germany and France.

Here's what policymakers of the 27 countries in the European Union might consider to save the euro.

The island nation said it required assistance following "negative spillover effects through its financial sector, due to its large exposure in the Greek economy."

"This crisis is not over," said John Silvia of Wells Fargo. "The crisis will wax and wane for years."

Moody's Investors Service said that it may consider downgrading debt ratings for some eurozone nations if Spain seeks a bailout.