By DAVID ROMÁN And ART PATNAUDE MADRID—Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Thursday came under increased pressure to ask for a European Union bailout after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services slashed the country's credit rating to leave it teetering just above speculative-grade, or "junk" status. S&P's surprise two-notch downgrade represents the latest blow for a government grappling with an economic contraction of a scale only surpassed by Greece, a massive banking overhaul, soaring unemployment and a pro-independence push by Catalan nationalists unhappy by the effects of austerity measures on their wealthy north eastern region. A further downgrade of Spain's...
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