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| Eurozone crisis live: Spain faces crisis of 'huge proportions' | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 9.45am: Back to Spain and the foreign minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, says today's economic data adds up to a "huge crisis" for the country. | |
| The figures are terrible for everyone and terrible for the government ... Spain is in a crisis of huge proportions. | |
| More reaction to come from Spain. | |
| 9.34am: There's no relief from the grimness this morning. Eurozone retail PMIs are out for Germany, France and Italy and they're not great. The Markit purchasing managers' index for the sector in Germany showed that the value of retail sales fell compared to last month. Same for France and Italy. | |
| The retail PMI for the whole eurozone has fallen to 41.3, down from 49.1 in March, and fell at their steepest rate since 2008. A figure below 50 represents contraction. | |
| 9.04am: Moving eastwards, the Czech government faces a confidence vote today as it struggles to maintain support amid its own austerity drive. The debate in parliament was due to begin at 9am so it should be underway now. | 9.04am: Moving eastwards, the Czech government faces a confidence vote today as it struggles to maintain support amid its own austerity drive. The debate in parliament was due to begin at 9am so it should be underway now. |
| It is expected to survive the vote but as our Europe editor Ian Traynor pointed out yesterday, if it falls it would be the tenth EU government to go by the wayside in the past two years. | It is expected to survive the vote but as our Europe editor Ian Traynor pointed out yesterday, if it falls it would be the tenth EU government to go by the wayside in the past two years. |
| 8.49am: The Spanish unemployment numbers are really shocking. There are now 5.6 million people out of work, with 1.5 million of those jobless for more than two years. The National Statistics Institute says 365,900 more people lost their jobs in the first three months of the year and that the number of households with every member unemployed rose by 153,400 to 1.7 million. Spain's unemployment rate is the highest in the 17-nation eurozone. | 8.49am: The Spanish unemployment numbers are really shocking. There are now 5.6 million people out of work, with 1.5 million of those jobless for more than two years. The National Statistics Institute says 365,900 more people lost their jobs in the first three months of the year and that the number of households with every member unemployed rose by 153,400 to 1.7 million. Spain's unemployment rate is the highest in the 17-nation eurozone. |
| 8.30am: The markets are taking the downgrade badly. Obviously. The Ibex index in Spain is down around 1.5% as I type while German Dax and French Cac both down around 1%. FTSE has recovered a bit from earlier though - down just 0.23% at 5737. | 8.30am: The markets are taking the downgrade badly. Obviously. The Ibex index in Spain is down around 1.5% as I type while German Dax and French Cac both down around 1%. FTSE has recovered a bit from earlier though - down just 0.23% at 5737. |
| Spain, like many countries before it, is in a bind. If it ramps up the cuts in spending as per the euro austerity drive, there'll be no growth and the markets won't like it. But if it turns it backs on austerity, or merely fudges, which it is doing, the markets don't like that either. | Spain, like many countries before it, is in a bind. If it ramps up the cuts in spending as per the euro austerity drive, there'll be no growth and the markets won't like it. But if it turns it backs on austerity, or merely fudges, which it is doing, the markets don't like that either. |
| 8.10am: I can barely keep up with the news from Spain this morning and I'm afraid it's another bad one. Retail sales fell by 3.7% last month compared with March last year. Sales have now fallen for 21 months in a row. | 8.10am: I can barely keep up with the news from Spain this morning and I'm afraid it's another bad one. Retail sales fell by 3.7% last month compared with March last year. Sales have now fallen for 21 months in a row. |
| While I'm at it, the Spanish bank Banco Popular has just reported its Q1 results and they're bad as well. Profits were down 46% as it covered losses in property investments. More losses will follow in the coming quarters, it said, as it gets to grips with loans dished out during the boom which have now gone sour. | While I'm at it, the Spanish bank Banco Popular has just reported its Q1 results and they're bad as well. Profits were down 46% as it covered losses in property investments. More losses will follow in the coming quarters, it said, as it gets to grips with loans dished out during the boom which have now gone sour. |
| 8.07am: Unemployment in Spain has risen to 24.4% in the first quarter of this year. That's a shocker. The figure was expected to be a percentage point lower at 23.%. | 8.07am: Unemployment in Spain has risen to 24.4% in the first quarter of this year. That's a shocker. The figure was expected to be a percentage point lower at 23.%. |
| It's an increase on 22.9% in the last three months of 2011. | It's an increase on 22.9% in the last three months of 2011. |
| 8.02am: On the markets, the FTSE100 has dropped 0.7% this morning on the back of the Spanish downgrade. British banks are big investors in Spain and they have fallen sharply. Lloyds is the biggest faller on the FTSE100, down nearly 3% this morning. | 8.02am: On the markets, the FTSE100 has dropped 0.7% this morning on the back of the Spanish downgrade. British banks are big investors in Spain and they have fallen sharply. Lloyds is the biggest faller on the FTSE100, down nearly 3% this morning. |
| Spanish bond yields have also spiked back above 6% for benchmark 10-year money. | Spanish bond yields have also spiked back above 6% for benchmark 10-year money. |
| 7.57am: The Spanish finance minister Luis de Guindos has denied that European officials have told Spain to ask for a bailout. | 7.57am: The Spanish finance minister Luis de Guindos has denied that European officials have told Spain to ask for a bailout. |
| He told Bloomberg last night that: "Nobody has asked Spain, either officially or unofficially" to turn to Europe's bailout mechanisms. "We don't need it." | He told Bloomberg last night that: "Nobody has asked Spain, either officially or unofficially" to turn to Europe's bailout mechanisms. "We don't need it." |
| Later that same evening, this happened. | Later that same evening, this happened. |
| 7.45am: Morning and welcome to the eurozone liveblog. Or should that be buenos días because the blog will have a strong Spanish flavour today after last night's S&P downgrade and unemployment figures coming up this morning. | 7.45am: Morning and welcome to the eurozone liveblog. Or should that be buenos días because the blog will have a strong Spanish flavour today after last night's S&P downgrade and unemployment figures coming up this morning. |
| The killer line from S&P is that not only is the economy going to shrink, making it more difficult to get out of the fiscal mess, but Spain will have shell out more money for banks. | The killer line from S&P is that not only is the economy going to shrink, making it more difficult to get out of the fiscal mess, but Spain will have shell out more money for banks. |
| There's a busy agenda for today and here's what to look out for: | There's a busy agenda for today and here's what to look out for: |
| • Spanish job figures at 8am • Joseph Stiglitz says austerity pushing Europe to suicide • Czech government vote of confidence • Italian 5-year bond auction worth up to €6.25bn • Japan pumps another $120bn into the financial system • US GDP at 1.30pm - expected to be 2.5% annualised | • Spanish job figures at 8am • Joseph Stiglitz says austerity pushing Europe to suicide • Czech government vote of confidence • Italian 5-year bond auction worth up to €6.25bn • Japan pumps another $120bn into the financial system • US GDP at 1.30pm - expected to be 2.5% annualised |