Spanish government bonds climb above 7 percent; Aung San Suu Kyi addresses the UN in Geneva; Australia reveals plans to create world's largest network of marine parks; Karzai calls on Pakistan to help end Afghan war; David Cameron addresses News Corp inquiry; and more
Top of the Agenda: Spanish Bond Yields Hit Record High
Spanish government bond yields climbed above 7 percent (Reuters) today following Moody's downgrade of Spanish debt to just above junk status. The credit rating agency said it lowered Spain's credit rating because a recently agreed eurozone bailout for Spanish banks would increase the country's debt burden. At the same time, with borrowing costs on ten-year bonds at a euro-era high of 7.02 percent, analysts are predicting Spain could ultimately require a full sovereign debt bailout similar to the programs implemented in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal.
Analysis
"The Spanish bank rescue, recall, consists of a plan to lend the Spanish sovereign money, adding to its debt burden and potentially pushing private creditors farther down the payment priority list. With Italy's banks also teetering, markets may be growing worried that the list of countries in need of saving may soon outpace the list of 'safe' countries," says the Economist.
"I suggest the combination of two ideas: 'insurance union' and 'adjustment union.' By an insurance union, I mean one that provides temporary and targeted support for countries hit by big shocks. By an adjustment union, I mean one that ensures symmetrical adjustment to changes in circumstances, including, changes in financing," writes the Financial Times' Martin Wolf.
"It could also, however, catalyze a more far-reaching process of reform: federalizing banking supervision and regulation within the eurozone, the possible migration of bank deposit guarantee schemes from the auspices of national governments to a pan-European one, some form of Eurobonds, and, in the end, fiscal union," Douglas Rediker and David Gordon for ForeignPolicy.com.
PACIFIC RIM
Burma's Suu Kyi Addresses UN in Geneva
Burma pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi addressed the UN's International Labor Organization (BBC) in Geneva today at the start of her first visit to Europe since 1988. The ILO has led a longtime campaign against child and slave labor in Myanmar.
CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick analyzes Burma's "fragile reform process" on the CFR blog Asia Unbound.
AUSTRALIA: The government revealed plans today to create the world's largest network of marine parks (SMH), which will restrict fishing and oil exploration in more than a third of Australia's waters. The announcement comes ahead of next week's Rio+20 earth summit in Brazil.
ELSEWHERE:
Karzai calls on Pakistan to help end Afghan war
David Cameron addresses News Corp inquiry
This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.