Ireland's crisis flares as investors dump bonds

[Timna]

Ireland's crisis flares as investors dump bonds

Nov 10, 7:03 AM (ET)

By SHAWN POGATCHNIK

DUBLIN (AP) - Ireland's financial troubles loomed large Wednesday as investors - betting that the country soon could join Greece in seeking an EU bailout - drove the interest rate on the country's 10-year borrowing to a new high.

The yield on 10-year bonds rose above 8 percent for the first time since the launch of the euro, the European Union's common currency, 11 years ago.

The cost of funding Irish debt has risen steadily since September, when the government admitted its bailout efforts of five banks would cost at least euro45 billion, equivalent to euro10,000 for every man, woman and child in Ireland. That gargantuan bill, in turn, has made the projected 2010 deficit rise to 32 percent of GDP, the highest in post-war Europe.

The yield, or interest rate, on 10-year Irish notes rose steadily from 7.94 percent to reach 8.18 percent by midmorning. As the value of bonds fall, buyers demand ever-higher yields as compensation.

My Way News - Ireland's crisis flares as investors dump bonds

A number of years ago, folk singer Judy Collins recorded a song entitled, "Send in the Clowns." That seems to be a relevant title for the latest EU
(vaunted EU ) financial crisis. But, the only problem is that every bureaucratic political bungler in the entire EU is a clown. This entire EU albatross is a comedy of errors. Big and omnipotent on paper, but toothless and incompetent in reality. Nobama would fit in well there, with his socialist Demo allies.

[Suzanne]

A number of the politicians in our Western governments are clowns. I would feel really hopeless, but we are just doing more stage-setting for the tribulation. The world is getting ready for someone to step in and solve all the problems. Too bad it won't initially be the only one who can actually fix everything. I've told my son several times that only Jesus Christ can clean up the hopless mess this world is in.