Money Snatchers

Spain’s borrowing costs rose significantly Thursday in its first debt auction since its credit rating was downgraded last week by Standard & Poor’s amid concerns it might be hit by a Greek-style debt crisis.

The debt crisis enveloping Greece could spread to hurt the banking systems in Portugal, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Britain, a leading credit ratings agency warned Thursday.

GREECE QUESTIONS: Interest rates dropped in the bond market Thursday on renewed concerns that a bailout for Greece might not be enough to prevent the country from defaulting on its debt.

Hilton Worldwide, the operator of the Hilton hotel chain and a portfolio company of the Blackstone Group, said late on Thursday that it has reorganized its hefty debt load, cutting $4 billion in obligations and pushing back maturities.

Greece raised the stakes on Thursday in its quest for EU help to tackle its debt crisis, warning it cannot achieve promised deficit cuts if its borrowing costs remain so high and may have to call in the IMF.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou confronted more anti-austerity protests Thursday and tested international support for his battle against debt with a new multi-billion-euro bond.

Greece’s debt agency announced Thursday that it would issue 8 billion euros in five-year bonds a day after its government announced new austerity measures worth 4.8 billion euros to battle its rampant deficit.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Thursday that the record US budget deficit and national debt are matters of national security rather than just economics.

The Senate will act to raise the country’s debt limit on Thursday before closing shop for the year. That’s the plan anyway.

Arcadia , the fashion group owned by billionaire Philip Green, on Thursday posted a 13 percent increase in full-year profit along with solid current trading and said it had significantly cut its debt.