Spain, Euro Zone Bailout | featured news

The Spanish government said Wednesday it will decide within the next few weeks whether to ask for outside financial help, noting it might opt for a precautionary line of credit instead of bailout cash.

Spain's 17 regional governments are a big part of the country's financial problems. Like the regional savings banks, they are victims of the country's property boom and bust. During the boom years, regional government tax revenues were swelled by stamp duties on property sales, and by income taxes paid by immigrants that came to work on the country's construction sites... Then the bust came...