On April 4th, just days after Spain announced its most extreme budget since the Franco era, a bond auction failed to attract enough interest to pacify investors. As Spanish bond yields rise, fears that Spain will be the next country to require a bailout are mounting, despite the government's draconian plans to get the public finances in order.

Questions

1. Can you run us through what the recently-announced budget measures entail and how effective they are likely to be?

2. What do the results of the bond auction on April 4th tell us about investor sentiment? Do you expect bond yields to keep rising?3. How do you see the economy faring this year in light of such deep fiscal correction, and what is the outlook for the banking sector?

4. What are the social implications of this?

5. With all this, is Spain likely to require a bailout in the short term?

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