Portugal

Moody’s downgraded Portugal’s credit standing to junk, the first ratings agency that made the move which mean the country may need a second round of rescue funds before it can return to capital markets.

The rating cut was not absolutely unexpected and reminded that troubles in Europe are not ending with Greece’s bailout.

Some economists think Ireland may also need additional support, and investors worry Spain and Italy could be next in line for aid.

Dow Jones reported this week that the European Central Bank faces a potential crisis of its own because of "skeleton" risks amounting to several hundreds of billions of euros on its balance sheet.

The report says that the bailed out countries of Greece, Ireland and Portugal but Spain as well have provided as collateral asset-backed securities that are unfit for central bank loans because they have such low or non-existent debt ratings.

Still, providing the collateral allowed the countries to receive more financial support, Dow Jones said.
 

euro and some euro zone bonds were hit by concerns over possible debt restructuring in Greece. Germany said that Berlin does not believe Greece, which sealed a 110 billion euro ($158 billion) bailout from the EU and IMF a year ago, would make it through the summer without a restructuring.

Besides, on the sidelines of elections of anti-euro party in Finland Portugal’s pending bailout came also under question which impacted market confidence.

The European single currency continued its decline against the US dollar and the pound in the European session as Moody's Investors Service downgraded Portugal's long-term government bond ratings by one notch to Baa1 from A3.

But the euro has leveled off against the rest of majors after falling in late Asian deals.

European leaders are discussing the possibility to overhaul the euro zone’s 440 billion-euro ($599.1 billion) rescue fund in exchange for some stricter measures and closer surveillance on struggling states, according to a report from the Financial Times.

Citing people familiar with the talks the FT reported that senior leaders are considering "enhanced surveillance" of Spain and Portugal rather than assistance, which would give a European Union stamp of approval on proposed reforms.

Gold remained steady in Tuesday deals as concerns over Portugal’s debt gave a support to bullion's appeal as a safety net in times of economic turmoil.

Spot gold gained 20 cents at $1374.65 an ounce by 0108 GMT, after rising 0.4 percent on Monday.

U.S. gold futures was little changed at $1,375.0.

The euro steadied on Tuesday trading at $1.2929, retreating from a four-month trough around $1.2860 on Monday.

Madeira, Portuguese archipelago located in the North Atlantic Ocean, represents one of the Autonomous regions of Portugal, with Madeira Island and Porto Santo Island being the only inhabited islands. Meantime Madeira, populated by almost 246,000, is the part of the European Union as an outermost region. The island’s amazing coastline nature allures tourists from the entire world.

This beautiful, amazing country, Portugal, located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, represents a developed country with the world's 19th-highest quality-of-life. Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east, the country also posses the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, the wonderful nature of which are the dream of any tourist. Madeira, meantime, is also attractive for foreign companies as a tax-haven by its Free Trade Zone and Off-Shore Financial Centre.

 Yesterday it was reported that Barclays plans to purchase Citi’s credit card business in Portugal. The company didn’t provide any details on the financial terms of the agreement. The Wall Street Journal reports that Barclays is paying less than $100 million.

Thereby, Barclays will acquire about 400,000 credit card accounts with the assets totaling about EUR644 million. The Citi cards will be rebranded over time. Besides, the unit and its workforce will be integrated into Barclay’s division in Portugal that has 130 branches across the country.