Greece and Bulgaria are in the main focus on Wednesday as dissatisfaction with the tough austerity measures pushed the people in both countries to protest in the streets.S&P warned that Cyprus might be downgraded to CCC+ and finally default. BoE Minutes revealed that Governor Mervyn King was outvoted on QE extension. Angela Merkel and Mariano Rajoy were also on the wires.

Greek workers took part in the first general strike of the year. They protested against the reduction of wages and tax increases. Gsee y Adedy, two main labor unions which organized the strike, believe that the measures adopted by the government aggravate the situation in the country where the unemployment rate reached 27%, while youth unemployment stands at 60%.

The violent protests in Bulgaria on Tuesday, suppressed brutally by the police, resulted on Wednesday in the resignation of the country’s government. PM Boiko Borisov announced the decision in the morning, attributing it to his disapproval of way the protesters were handled the previous night. Bulgarians have been expressing their opposition towards the latest increases in the cost of electricity and power monopolies. They have also been accusing politicians of corruption and showing dissatisfaction with the low living standards.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in the European morning that countries should not carry out active exchange rate policies. She also stated that the “euro between $1.30 and $1.40 is normal in the historical perspective of the euro”. Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy presented new fiscal reforms on Wednesday, and announced that steps will be taken in order to prevent and suppress corruption connected with financial activities of political parties.

Standard and Poor’s warned that Cyprus might soon be downgraded to CCC+ and eventually default on its debt if bailout negotiations with international lenders do not succeed. The rating agency explained in the official report: “We see at least a one-in-three chance that we could lower the Cyprus sovereign ratings again in 2013, for example if official financial assistance from the ESM and/or IMF is not forthcoming, leaving the Cypriot authorities few choices apart from to restructure its financial obligations.”

Finally, the BoE minutes from the MPC monetary policy meeting held on 6 and 7 February revealed that Governor Mervyn King as well as David Miles and Paul Fisher voted in favor of increasing QE by £25 billion in order to rebalance the economy. They argued that “although inflation seemed likely to remain above the 2% target over the next two years, the degree of slack in the economy, and the likely positive response of supply capacity to increased demand, meant that higher output growth would not necessarily lead to any material additional inflationary pressure.”