Catalonia calls for help from central government to pay debts

Yields on 30-year and 5-year bonds in Spain hit a euro-era record on Friday as the Valencia region of Spain filed for financial assistance. Bloomberg reports Spain Bonds Slide as Valencia Aid Request Deepens Crisis

The crisis in Spain is rapidly coming to a head. This crisis has nothing to do with Greek "contagion" as is widely believed. Spain dug this hole by itself. Spain's immediate unsolvable problems are a bankrupt banking system coupled with bankrupt regions that have no way to pay bills.

Yield on 10-year Spanish bonds remains stubbornly high near 7%, but yield on 2-year bonds is in the midst of a breathtaking crash. click on any chart for sharper image Spain 10-Year Government Bond Yield

 The MSM reports Spanish Short-Term Debt Costs Reach Alarm Levels

Spain's prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has finally admitted three things I have been saying for a long time Spain's regions were in deep fiscal trouble if not bankrupt Spain could not possibly hit its deficit targets for 2012 It is mathematically impossible for Spain to meet deficit goals without raising taxes, no matter how much he insisted otherwise.

AP - Spain's borrowing costs shot up Tuesday in an auction of short-term debt, in another sign that investors are asking for more when investing in the country's debts.