Spain nears end game

Spain is just the first of the core eurozone countries to crack and is unlikely to be the last as the response to the crisis from the relevant EU authorities remains wholly unconvincing, writes Ray Kinsella

The request by Spain for eurozone assistance to recapitalise its waterlogged banking sector was inevitable.

It’s been coming for the last year at least. The denials up to the very last minute were absolutely in keeping with the manner in which the eurozone typically goes about the business of patching up the balance sheets of its banks and — umbilically connected to them — its crisis-stricken economies.