The Eurozone was back on the brink last night as Spain edged towards a financial disaster that could tear the single currency apart. Analysts said Spain’s huge economy was at a ‘tipping point’ and would inevitably need international aid. In a sign that Europe’s debt crisis is deepening, Italy’s borrowing costs edged higher, Greece was was facing a 1930s-style depression and its austerity measures were said to be faltering. Look of concern: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy attends a plenary session in Madrid to debate the country's spiralling borrowing costs Additionally, ratings agencies threatened to strip Germany of its gold-plated credit rating because of the risk of the crisis spreading.
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Fears panic will spread from Spain to Italy and tear the Eurozone apart
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British taxpayers could be dragged into a bailout of stricken Spain
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FTSE 100 index of leading shares down 2% as Spain bans short-selling of shares to stem stock market losses
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French and German markets down 3%
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Italy heads towards bail-out with nearly £1trillion public debt
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Spanish sovereign borrowing costs soar to crisis levels: 10-year bond yields at 7.5%, unsustainable in medium term
‘The danger is if Spain requires a bailout, the market will say @placeholder is next.