Spain denies it is next in line for bailout

SPAIN vowed yesterday it would not follow ailing neighbour Portugal in seeking a European bailout, and a successful Spanish bond auction suggested markets do not immediately fear contagion.

The fall of another eurozone domino following Greece and Ireland focused attention on Madrid, testing the efforts that its government, and European authorities, have poured into erecting a firewall to buttress its public finances.

“(The risk of contagion) is absolutely ruled out ... it has been some time since the markets have known that our economy is much more competitive,” Spanish Economy Minister Elena Salgado told national radio station SER.