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Your English Newspaper
18 - 24 NOV 2011
Issue 631
Rajoy triggers market jitters by Jack Troughton
Poppies on parade
Services of Remembrance were held across the Costa Blanca as expats paid tribute to the brave servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Read the full story on page 6
MARIANO RAJOY, the man most likely to lead Spain after Sunday’s elections, sparked “aggressive selling” of government bonds by failing to commit to tackling the debt crisis. With the Eurozone close to ‘the abyss’, the Partido Popular leader’s stance was enough to scare the market into action and further dent Spain’s already tattered image. The last two weeks have been “absolutely disastrous” for the 17 members of the single currency and without swift action the euro could implode, warn market experts. And for the first time, worried expats and people moving cash into the Euro are beginning to question the future of the troubled currency. Germany and France have called for stricter austerity measures to combat
the debt crisis – and while the UK and United States have policies designed to tighten belts, they have also used quantitative easing to try and stimulate their economies. David Kerns, a market analyst and dealing manager with foreign exchange experts Moneycorp, said the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone was driven by the bond market and said Mr Rajoy had been judged on his off-the-cuff remark. “Rajoy was seen as being extremely flippant by saying ‘I am not committed to anything’. The market saw that as he was not committed to tackling the debt crisis in Spain,” he said. “And that meant that Spanish bonds were sold aggressively.” He added: “Over the last couple of weeks it has been absolutely disastrous for the Eurozone and ultimate disaster has crept ever closer.” Continued on page 5