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THE INVESTOR
25TH ANNIVERSARY
A
R
ating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded
Greece’s sovereign credit rating to junk status, the
latest in a series of similar moves across southern
Europe as the nancial crisis took hold.Yields on
government bonds across Italy, Spain, Greece and Ireland soared
as investors speculated about their nancial health. Meanwhile,
interest rates across the world were slashed. On 2 May 2009,
the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and
European Central Bank agreed a €110 billion bailout package to
take e ect over the following three years, an agreement which
led to rioting on the streets of Athens. It was the rst in a series
of rescue packages as the impact of the nancial crisis spread
and deepened. On 10 May, the European Central Bank agreed
to create a €750 billion bailout fund to shore up Portugal,
Ireland and other economies struggling to cope with the fallout.
Europe and the International Monetary Fund agree
to a €110 billion bailout package for Greece after the
country’s sovereign credit rating is downgraded to junk
status,while Portugal and Ireland are also bailed out
BAILOUT
HARBINGER
OF DOOM?
On 14 April, not only did the
eruption of the Icelandic volcano
Eyjafjallajökull leave newsreaders stumped,
it came just days before the Greece crisis,
sending an ash cloud across Europe