Ireland's cost of borrowing is continuing to rise this afternoon.

After briefly dropping below 8% earlier, the interest rate demanded by investors to lend money to Ireland for ten years stood at 8.14% this evening. The spread between Irish and German government bonds also set new highs for the seventh trading day in a row. Spanish, Portuguese and Italian spreads are also very high. Investor concerns over the euro zone peripheral countries' beleaguered finances have plagued the markets this week.

Bloomberg TV today focused its attention once again on the Irish debt and banking troubles.

Mark Grant, managing director at Southwest Securities, told Bloomberg TV that Ireland is going bankrupt. He said the country is running out of money and has only got about 60 days left of cash.
He said the issue is going to get down to whether the Government is going to pay the senior debt of the Irish banks or whether the EU is going to say enough is enough and let the banks go.

A spokesman for the National Treasury Management Agency described the claim that the country is running out of money as 'totally incorrect'.

'It is a matter of public record that this country is funded through to the middle of next year. To suggest otherwise is mischievous nonsense,' a statement from the NTMA said.

John Brynjolfsson, chief investment officer at Armored Wolf, also told Bloomberg that the Irish situation is certainly worse than originally thought and is continuing to worsen all the time.
But he says the sovereign debt problem is bigger than just Ireland and says it is an ECB problem. He says the weak point in the euro zone is the euro, which continues to weaken.

English law firm behind the petition to the have Irish Nationwide wound up

English law firm SJ Berwin is behind the petition to the have Irish Nationwide Building Society wound up.

The firm is representing two unnamed holders of subordinated bonds. The winding-up proceeding is the first legal step in seeking to have a company placed into liquidation by creditors, under English law.
Most Irish Nationwide subordinated bondholders have not backed the petition.

A spokesman for Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's Millhouse fund said it was not behind the case. Millhouse previously threatened legal action over the plan to impose burden sharing on subordinated bondholders.

A larger group of Irish Nationwide subordinated bondholders being advised by law firm Bingham McCutcheon is also not involved in the case.

SJ Berwin took the case in the English courts because UK rules give enormous power to lenders, if a court can be convinced a borrower is in default. London-based lawyers said Irish Nationwide could fall under the jurisdiction of the English courts.

The building society has branches in Belfast and London, many of its creditors are based in London and its bonds were issued under English law. That could be enough of a legal connection for a case to proceed.
Even so, Irish Nationwide says the bondholders have no case to bring. It says bondholders have not suffered any losses and the borrower has not missed interest payments. The Irish Government has offered 20pc of face value for similar Anglo Irish Bank subordinated bonds.

NAMA challenge to go to Supreme Court

The Commercial Court has allowed one of two issues raised by developer Paddy McKillen in his challenge to the National Asset Management Agency to be appealed to the Supreme Court.

The appeal could go before the Supreme Court before the end of this week.
Under the NAMA legislation, there is an automatic right of appeal for Mr McKillen in relation to the constitutionality of the legislation.

The High Court had to certify that other issues he wanted to raise in his appeal were of exceptional public importance and it was in the public interest that the appeal be taken.

The court ruled today that the point raised by Mr McKillen's legal team that he had been denied his right to fair procedures because he had not been given the opportunity to make representations before a decision was taken to acquire his loans, was of exceptional public importance and could go to the Supreme Court.
However it refused to certify the point made by Mr McKillen that the European Commission's decision meant only impaired borrowers could be taken in to NAMA.

Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns said the relevant section of the legislation did not expressly exclude Mr McKillen from relying on issues that were not certified in his appeal. However, he said that was an issue solely for the Supreme Court.