Another weekend, another euro-zone country in crisis. This time the bond market, having forced Ireland into accepting emergency funding, is targeting Portugal.
According to Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, Portugal has not asked for a bailout. Yet. The Portuguese are still trying to tough it out. Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, the country's finance minister, even went as far as saying yesterday that EU governments cannot impose a bailout on his country.
Politicians can say what they like, but the bond market has a mind of its own. Yesterday, German government bond yields fell while those of Portuguese and Spanish bonds rose on mounting anxiety over where the euro-zone crisis might spread to next.
Portuguese 10-year bond yields, at more than 7 per cent, are already above the level at which Ireland and Greece stopped accessing bond markets and well above the estimated 5 per cent Lisbon would pay to borrow from the European Financial Stability Facility.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has concentrated its bond-buying operations on Portuguese debt this week, a trader said.
"There are those who think that the best way to preserve the stability of the euro is to push and force the countries that at this moment have been more under the floodlight to that aid," Mr Teixeira dos Santos told Jornal de Noticias, a Portuguese newspaper. "But that is not the vision or the political option of the countries that are involved."
Portuguese bonds have dropped as the government struggles to convince investors it can avoid the fate of Ireland and Greece, which have already asked for EU bailouts this year. A majority of euro-region governments and the ECB are putting pressure on Portugal to accept a bailout to prevent contagion spreading to Spain.
Ireland was forced to ask for a rescue on Sunday, eight days after officials there were pressed in an ECB conference call to accept emergency aid.
Portugal's finance minister says his country does not need a rescue because its position is not as serious as Ireland's.
"It has been clear that what we are betting on is on ensuring conditions for Portugal to continue financing itself in markets to ensure the functioning of public administration, and also to be able to regularise the financing mechanisms for the private sector, through the financial sector," Mr Teixeira dos Santos told the paper.
Some analysts even think that no one is bothered with Portugal any more. With a bailout of Portugal inevitable, it is just a question of when, not if, Spain will come into line as the next victim.
"The market is really focused on Spain rather than Portugal. Most people think Portugal accessing funding is inevitable," said Nick Stamenkovic, a rate strategist at RIA Capital Markets.
The 10-year Spanish yield spread over Bunds hit a new euro lifetime high yesterday, with 10-year yields over 50 basis points higher over the week at 5.25 per cent.
The euro fell to a fresh two-month low against a broadly recovering dollar on the peripheral concerns.
Trading was likely to remain subdued into the weekend after Thursday's US Thanksgiving holiday.
Euro-zone money supply growth slowed last month, but loans to the private sector grew at a faster rate, the ECB said. As for next weekend, the target is anybody's guess. Belgium, anyone?
* with agencies
business@thenational.ae
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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
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Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
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JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
Results
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Ziyadd, Richard Mullen (jockey), Jean de Roualle (trainer).
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
Winner: Secret Advisor, Tadhg O’Shea, Charlie Appleby.
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Plata O Plomo, Carlos Lopez, Susanne Berneklint.
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Everything Now
Arcade Fire
(Columbia Records)
