THE GUARDIAN: Investors pressure Brussels for solution but Irish officials deny any need for bailout
The Irish debt crisis intensified today, after other high-deficit countries such as Portugal warned about a possible contagion effect, and investors pressured European officials to come up with a solution to calm markets. Irish officials reiterated that they don't need any bail-out.
The crisis moved from trading rooms into the political arena, as European finance ministers are meeting tomorrow and the day after in Brussels. Investors expect them to announce a resolution, or at least to shed some clarity about how much money they would lose were any European country to default.
"The Irish problem is already spreading, but it could get more violent and volatile," said Ashok Shah, chief investment officer at London Capital, a fund management firm. "They have to get this bail-out, they have a period of time before it gets impossible, before nasty things happen. The longer they leave it, the more difficult it will get."
Pressure on the EU escalated after Portugal's finance minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said his country was at risk of a possible contagion, as "we are not facing only a national or country problem - it is the problems of Greece, Portugal and Ireland," he said. >>> Elena Moya | Monday, November 15, 2010
