Debt News

Panama City - President Ricardo Martinelli told Venezuela on Friday that its decision to break off ties with Panama should not serve as an excuse to renege on its debt exceeding $1 billion.Martinelli's warning came a day after Venezuela ordered the expulsion of Pana...

Panama City - President Ricardo Martinelli warned Venezuela Friday that its decision to break off relations with Panama should not be used as an excuse to renege on its more than $1 billion debt."I don't want to think that this is an excuse not to pay and that the V...

Shenzhen - China's first-ever default on a domestic corporate bond, expected Friday, has sparked legal action by investors owed interest payments from a solar company, their lawyer said.Shanghai-based Chaori Solar Energy Science & Technology Co.

Lisbon - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called Monday for Portugal to continue with fiscal austerity so it can exit its international bailout without a safety net."It is clear that a precautionary programme would provide more guarantees and s...

Rome - Italy's economy shrank by 1.9 percent in 2013 but its public deficit stayed within the European Union's limit of 3.0 percent of GDP in mixed news for the country's new government, official figures showed Monday.The contraction -- which followed a shrin...

Washington - Moody's raised its outlook for the German bond rating to "stable" from "negative" Friday, citing the lowered risk that Berlin would be called on to prop up weak eurozone economies.Progress toward closing the country's fiscal deficit also contributed to...

Lisbon - Portugal's government on Friday hoisted its forecast for economic growth this year to 1.2 percent from the 0.8 percent it had previously given."This new estimate is a lot better than what was predicted up to now," Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas tol...

Madrid - Spain's government is to begin the privatisation of nationalised lender Bankia by selling off 7.5 percent through its banking assistance fund FROB, according to a filing with the stock market regulator CNMV on Thursday.The banks tasked with the sale ar...

Lisbon - International creditors called on Wednesday for all parties and citizens in Portugal to back austerity measures for "a few more years" after its financial bailout package ends in May."The troika have let it be known that it will be good to have a bigge...

China's corporate debt has hit record levels and is likely to accelerate a wave of domestic restructuring and trigger more defaults, as credit repayment problems rise.