Portugal reels after Moody's junk rating
Bailed-out Portugal paid an immediate price on Wednesday for a drastic Moody's rating downgrade to junk status, having to offer investors a much higher rate of return to raise fresh funding.
Dropped four notches to Ba2, Lisbon found itself on the defensive in the markets as rattled investors demanded more for their money, with the new government's tough austerity program forgotten quickly in the crossfire.