Greece remains nowhere near investment grade

Greece's efforts to regain full access to international markets through the small issues at high yields of a five-year bond in January and a 10-year note this week are viewed by the markets as positive steps that also indicate how difficult the country's road back to normality will be.

The high price Greece had to pay - more than twice what Cyprus and Portugal paid for their 10-year bonds and up to 16 times what a five-year paper has cost Spain - to attract investors of "good quality" illustrates that returning to the markets will be no mean feat.

The main reason for that is the distance the country still has to cover before it can enjoy an investment grade credit rating, which is the main yardstick for long-term portfolios and real-money investors: The latter, unlike hedge funds, do not sell off their positions at the slightest turbulence in markets as they have a...

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