Spain edges toward rescue (Bloomberg)

Spain took 100 billion euros ($121 billion) in bailout loans to aid its banks. Now its regions are looking for bailouts, which has pushed investors to charge the nation more to borrow for five years than for 10 years. Without access to debt markets, Spain is edging closer to needing international rescue. “Now that the markets are focusing on whether Spain needs a program that will require more than just support for the banks, adding the regions’ debt to the central government’s funding needs doesn’t help at all,” said Ricardo Santos, an economist at BNP Paribas SA. The regions’ combined debt load of 145 billion euros doubled since 2008, to the equivalent of 14% of GDP.