(AP) LONDON — Portugal's request for a bailout could mark the moment that Europe finally contained its debt crisis.
Unlike previous bailout requests, Portugal's has not been greeted by a chorus of concern in financial markets over which country will be next. The European Central Bank even raised interest rates on Thursday as it turned its sights from the dangers of the debt crisis to the problem of inflation.
That suggests that after a year of summits, political spats and last-minute emergency measures, markets believe the bailout domino effect may be over — though analysts warn the crisis has seen false dawns before.
In part, the markets had already accounted for Portugal's troubles as its borrowing costs became more and more unsustainable, so the only surprise in the bailout request was its timing.
The announcement by Portugal's caretaker Prime Minister Jose Socrates on Wednesday evening capped a torrid few months for the country, which had been using every tool at its disposal to prevent an embarrassing bailout.
The euro remained strong, near 15-month highs against the dollar at $1.43, largely thanks to expectations that the European Central Bank will follow up Thursday's interest rate increase with more hikes this year.
The response in bond and stock markets has been equally relaxed, with Spanish borrowing rates in the bond markets largely unchanged and its stock market one of the strongest performers in Europe.
Since the government debt crisis exploded over a year ago, Spain was bracketed in with Greece, Ireland and Portugal as an imperiled eurozone economy.
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