Bernard Hickey details the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9am in association with the BNZ, including news Standard and Poor's has downgraded Spain's sovereign credit rating to AA from AA+ and placed it on review for another downgrade. Standard and Poor's warned that GDP growth in Spain will be very weak at just 0.7% annually from 2010 to 2016. The euro fell again on very serious doubts about its ability to survive this latest debt crisis. Many fear what might happen if Spain hits serious trouble, given it is 5 times bigger than Greece or Portugal. The IMF and the Eurozone are now trying to build a bigger rescue package for Greece after the massive fall on markets on Tuesday night. The Germans are finally showing some urgency about building a package. The planned package has more than doubled in size to 120 billion euros. But some are saying a package worth 600 billion euros is required. The OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria likened the crisis to Ebola.
“It’s not a question of the danger of contagion,” he told Bloomberg Television. “Contagion has already happened. This is like Ebola. When you realize you have it you have to cut your leg off in order to survive."Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve reiterated its stance on its version of the OCR known as the Fed Funds Rate. It will stay at an 'exceptionally low' 0.25% for an 'extended period'. Meanwhile, Australia may hike its rates next week as inflation is rising.
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