BLOOMBERG/ ANALYSIS/ Is Portugal the new Greece? It has a higher debt burden and a slower 10-year growth rate than Greece. Now it is being punished by investors as the sovereign debt crisis spreads. The risk premium on Portuguese bonds rose to more than double the past year’s average. And today, Standard & Poor’s cut its long-term local and foreign currency sovereign rating for Portugal to A- from A+ claiming the outlook was negative. “The reason we’re concerned about Portugal is not because its public sector debt ratios are excessively high, it’s more that the Portuguese economy doesn’t really grow,” said economist Kenneth Wattret.
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