debt News

German Chancellor Merkel Rejects ‘Miracle Solutions;’ Spain’s Debt Costs Soar

Chancellor Angela Merkel rebuffed pressure on Thursday for Germany, Europe’s most powerful economy, to underwrite debt or guarantee bank deposits in the euro zone, as Spain’s soaring borrowing costs raised new alarm. Spain’s 10-year bond yield hit a euro lifetime …

Analysis: EU’s Spain Bank Rescue May Bring only Brief Respite

Euro zone finance ministers rushed Spain into an EU-funded rescue for its debt-stricken banks to pre-empt the threat of a bank run if Greece’s debt crisis flares again but any respite for Madrid and the euro may be short-lived. After …

EU Insurers Still Coming to Terms with Solvency II as Start Date Nears

“Over the next 18 months it’s estimated that Ireland will spend 100 million euros (app. $125 million) on preparations for Solvency II (SII),” said Garvan O’Neill, a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ financial services practice, who headed a panel discussion on the …

Economic Storm Clouds Continue to Gather over Europe

In many ways Ireland is a “microcosm for Europe,” said Danny McCoy, the Director General of the Irish Business & Employer’s Confederation (IBEC) at the EIF Forum. He described the present situation as a “crisis of government and of business …

Global Downturn Puts Investors, Companies in Retreat

Gripped by fears that Europe’s debt crisis is driving the world economy into a ditch, companies are delaying plans to raise capital and canceling deals, while investors are taking refuge in cash or any other place they think their money …

S&P Lowers India’s Rating Outlook to Negative; Investment Rating in Peril

Standard & Poor’s cut India’s credit rating outlook on Wednesday to negative from stable, reflecting the toll that hefty fiscal and current account deficits and political paralysis are exacting on Asia’s third-largest economy. The negative outlook jeopardizes India’s long-term rating …

Ratings Recap – Notes, Pref. Shares: Swiss Re, Fairfax, AXIS, Munich Re

A.M. Best Co. has assigned a debt rating of “a+” to the recently issued CHF 320 million [$350 million] 7.25 percent perpetual subordinated notes with a stock settlement issued by Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd., and has assigned a stable outlook. …

IMF Head Sees Global Economy on Recovery Path, but Risks Remain

The global economy has stepped back from the brink of danger and signs of stabilization are emerging from the euro zone and the United States, but high debt levels in developed markets and rising oil prices are key risks ahead, …

Debt Ridden India Makes More Claims on Its Insurance Giant

An Indian government company with more than a quarter of a billion customers has once again dug into its pockets to prop up its financially-strapped owner. Policyholders in the Life Insurance Corporation of India, a behemoth that’s little known outside …

Greece Averts Immediate Default with Bond Swap Deal Success

Greece averted the immediate risk of an uncontrolled default, winning strong acceptance from its private creditors for a bond swap deal which will ease its massive public debt and clear the way for a new international bailout. The finance ministry …