– Greek, Portuguese and Irish CDS All At Record Wides (ZeroHedge, June 13, 2011):
Good morning Europe: do you know where you record wide PIIGS CDS are? From Reuters: “The cost of insuring Greek government debt against default rose to a record high of 1,600 basis points on Monday, hit by concerns that any second rescue of Greece will trigger a credit event or at least multi-notch rating downgrade of its debt. Five-year credit default swaps (CDS) on Greek government debt rose 58 bps on the day to 1,600 bps, according to data monitor Markit. The Markit iTraxx index of western European sovereign CDS was up 9 bps on the day at 220 bps, near a record high of 221 bps hit on January 10. Portuguese CDS were up 40 bps at 773 bps, while Irish CDS were 33 bps higher at 745 bps, both at record highs. Spanish CDS were up 13 bps at 289 bps.” The slow motion European implosion is now accelerating as the reality that there is no spoon, nor rescue plan, is finally appreciated.