Portugal debt insurance cost hits record

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch)
The cost of insuring Portuguese government debt against nonpayment through instruments known as credit default swaps, or CDS, continued to soar Wednesday, hitting another record on fears the country may be forced to follow Greece in seeking a restructuring of its debt
The spread on five-year Portuguese CDS widened to 1,310 basis points from 1,279 basis points on Tuesday, according to data provider Markit
That means it would now cost $1.31 million annually to insure $10 million of Portuguese debt against default for five years
"Right now it looks as if Portugal could be the country with the biggest multiple-equilibria risk -- meaning the biggest risk of being dragged towards default, even if [European Central Bank] support is providing a stronger backdrop for the other bond markets," said Steven Barrow, currency and fixed-income strategist at Standard Bank.