A full-blown sovereign bail-out of Spain would be economically and politically impossible and cost up to €650bn (£510bn), an in-depth study has warned. Leading think-tank Open Europe made the estimate based on the assumption the Spanish government would be forced out of the markets for three years because of its unsustainable borrowing costs, as happened in Greece, Ireland and Portugal. Between now and mid-2015, Spain has funding needs of €542bn, with its banks requiring up to €100bn on top of this. The Spanish regions possibly require another €20bn, according to the study. A Greek-style bail-out for Spain would ... (full story)