by Edward Hugh: Barcelonabr /br /blockquote"I would now expect several eurozone countries with weak banking sectors to get into serious difficulties as the crisis continues. There is a risk of cascading sovereign defaults. If this was limited to countries of the size of Ireland or Greece, one could solve this problem through a bail-out. But solvency risk is not a problem confined to small countries. The banking sectors in Italy, Spain and Germany are increasingly vulnerable."br /Wolfgang Munchau, a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c94ac804-fb62-11dd-bcad-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1"Financial Times/a, 15 February 2009./blockquoteblockquoteGerman Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN1631373320090216"said on Monday/a euro zone countries would have to pull together if one of them faced a "serious situation," adding that Ireland was in a "difficult situation."br //blockquoteblockquoteInvestors are increasingly concerned that Ireland may default on its national debt as the government pledges more money to help troubled banks, the Sunday Times said. Credit-default swaps on Ireland’s government bonds reached record ...

The UK housing sector, already best by plunging demand and prices, has been hit with a potential body blow which could tip the economy into a deep recession. Taylor Wimpey, the country’s biggest home owner, has shocked the UK market and observers with the news that it has failed to agree a deal with potential new investors, forcing the stricken house builder to admit on Wednesday that it could breach banking covenants if the housing market does not recover. Coming with the news of poor sales figures for big retailer, Marks & Spencer, the Taylor Wimpey news will undermine investor confidence across the board. The company had been looking for around 500 million pounds ($A1 billion) in new capital from existing big and new shareholders, and had promised to write down the value of its land bank in Britain, Spain and other countries by around 660 million pounds (around $A1.4 billion). The write-down ...