CDS of Greece and Portugal rise, peripheral countries under pressure

The cost of insuring the default of Greece and Portugal continues to grow, while there is an increase in the pressure on banks in the weaker states of the eurozone. Greece's five-year credit default swaps rose 112 basis points to 2075 and Portuguese equivalents rose 97 basis points to 1030, Markit said.
Analyst Gavin Nolan explained that "the weaker peripheral countries are paying a heavy bill and it is no coincidence that the banks based in those states have pushed the senior financial index to widen". The Markit iTraxx Crossover Index, used to measure risk appetite, crossed the 700 basis point mark for the first time since July 2009 and the senior financials sub-index increased by 8 basis points to 251,5.