they just need an extra 10 billion

[martin]

yes that will do nicely, an extra 10 billion that has been forgotten to be included in the sums .

see here
http://www.smh.com.au/world/hidden-debt ... 1d7pc.html

[e-richard]

I loved the sign off line in that article:

Business leaders and Portuguese bankers welcomed the bailout, saying it was inevitable.

Now, lets see. Who caused the need for a bail out, and who stands to gain most as a result of the rescue ?

[cereza]

I loved the sign off line in that article:

Business leaders and Portuguese bankers welcomed the bailout, saying it was inevitable.

Now, lets see. Who caused the need for a bail out, and who stands to gain most as a result of the rescue ?

Unlike in the UK,Ireland and the USA the banks in Portugal were not to blame for the countrys debt - blame should be lumped onto the various governments since accession to the EU.

[sunman]

Unlike in the UK,Ireland and the USA the banks in Portugal were not to blame for the countrys debt - blame should be lumped onto the various governments since accession to the EU.

completely agree, been loving beyond their means for years

I'll be surprised if anyone actually wants to run for these next elections, public spending cuts will need to be severe, and unpopular to say the least

[cereza]

Yes the next government will not be popular that's for sure and you can bet that the cuts will be a lot worse than those proposed by Socrates recently and rejected by the others. The problem will be that there will be yet another hung government without enough power to make the drastic changes needed. More likely will be increasing public dissatisfaction which will result in even more problems and this will be seen in Greece as well.
I just don't see the Germans agreeing to continually bailing out these periphery countries who can't or won't help themselves so the only solution I can see is for Portugal to leave the Euro, default on loans and later devalue their own currency.