It is just uncanny how financial crises always evolve much like soap operas. At each stage you think "who's lying" and "you cannot make this one up." Here is today's news…

Spain angrily denies rumors of a bailout

The Spanish government was yesterday trying to deny German media reports according to which the EU was getting ready to finalize another bailout plan. [Prime Minister] Zapatero was yesterday busying trying to establish the facts behind the story in Berlin and Brussels, but nobody seems to have claimed responsibility. El Pais quoted the spokesman for economic affairs, Amadeu Altafaj, not only as denying that the Commission was negotiating a bailout, but also blaming Germany for inciting the rumors.

and the… in the same edition of the same Spain's national news paper, on the same day, we find:

Spain cut off from international financial markets

The crisis has now reached a new dramatic momentum, as Spain is now effectively cut off from international capital markets. El Pais has some interesting statistics showing the reliance of the Spanish banking system on the ECB. While Spain’s share in the ECB is 9%, Spanish banks now accounts for 16.5% of direct ECB borrowing. The amounts borrowed represent a 26.5% increase over May. The paper quotes the chairman of BBVA Bank as saying that for the majority of companies and financial firms, the international capital market was closed. He said that the country urgently needed to tackle three issues simultaneously: sustainability of public finances, growth, and financial sector reform.