France Telecom looks to maintain debt ratio

France Telecom reiterated its commitment to maintain its current debt ratio after ratings agency Standard and Poor's cut its outlook for the French company from stable to negative. The rating was kept ...

Spanish Non-Performing Debt Highest In 18 Years

The ratio of bad debt held by Spanish banks increased in March and hit a 18-year high of 8.37 percent, or $187.5 billion, the country’s central bank announced Friday. The number of nonperforming loans with payments that are 90 days overdue is now about 10 times larger than it was during the peak of the property boom in 1997.

IMF: Italy has made remarkable progress

IMF: Italy has made remarkable progress Associated Press Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 09:13 a.m., Wednesday, May 16, 2012 Italy's debt ratio is 120 percent of GDP, or €1.9 trillion, a sum that would overwhelm the eurozone if Italy were unable to raise money from the bond markets to make ...

Spanish Bad-Loans Ratio Hit 17-Year High In March

Bad debts held by Spanish banks rose to a 17-year high in March and the cost of insuring the debt of two major Spanish banks against default hit a record Friday, underscoring the continuing challenges posed by the country's five-year property slump.

Sen. Tom Coburn, part one: Defusing the debt bomb

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) served on the Simpson-Bowles commission, is a member of the Gang of Six, and just published “ The Debt Bomb: A Bold Plan to Stop Washington from Bankrupting America.” We spoke last week in his office. This interview, which focuses on America’s debt and growth problems , is the first in a two-part series. The second interview, which focuses on health care, will be ...