Despite admirably stubborn attempts to continue raising debt in the capital markets, Portugal is going to need help from the European stability fund if it is to cope with ever-spiralling debt levels.

This chart, from economists at Deutsche Bank, makes the point rather neatly. Even taking at face value the announced reduction of the deficit to 3% of the country's gross domestic product by 2013, and keeping that level steady, Portugal's public debt to GDP figure grows to just under 100% by 2020.