Spain has successfully raised nearly Euro 10 billion ($12.7 billion) in a sign of growing investor confidence in the new conservative government's attempts to get a grips on the country's debt, according to AP. The treasury says Thursday demand for the three bonds, which mature in 2015 and 2016, was more than double the amount on offer. The auction came a day after Parliament approved the government's first austerity measures, a Euro 15 billion ($19.1 billion) package aimed at reining in the swollen deficit. Spain has a 21.5 percent unemployment rate and its economy is expected to fall back into recession. It is battling to avoid slumping further into a debt crisis that has already forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek financial bailouts.
