Roundup: Moody’s downgrades Spain; OPEC mulls oil prices

Spain’s bonds are now just one grade above junk status, thanks to a downgrade yesterday by Moody’s.

The ratings agency argues the $125 billion bailout package will make it much harder for the country to pay off debt. And, it warned of future downgrades due to Spain’s weak economy and now very limited access to future borrowing.

Moody’s also downgraded debt for Cyprus, over fears a Greek exit from the Euro would badly harm the island nation’s economy.

PM pursues pipelines

Canada has more oil than many countries in the Middle East. The problem is, you can’t get a super tanker into Alberta.

So, with Keystone XL in jeopardy in the U.S. and in the face of strong environmentalist opposition at home, the conservative government is pursuing its own pipe line initiatives and smoothing the permit process.

Meanwhile, OPEC is mulling whether to curb output to support the higher oil prices that make bitumen sands development economically viable. If the Arab cartel opts for sustained lower oil prices, it’s bad news for Alberta.

Know the score?

Some readers have complained about our soccer report in yesterday’s PM bulletin.

It turns out some of you have extraordinary work ethic and restraint, and hadn’t checked the scores for yesterday’s match. And we, in fact, broke the news unexpectedly.

We wanted to provide investment analysis of an important news event. We’re sorry if we ruined anyone’s evening. Luckily, there are still several rounds to go.

In future, we’ll leave the sports reporting to our friends at Sportsnet, so you never have a reason to avoid reading Advisor.ca.

JP Morgan exec apologizes

And, in case you were in fact watching nothing but the Euro cup yesterday, you can catch up on Jamie Dimon’s performance on Capitol Hill yesterday.

Enjoy your day, The Editors