Local, foreign investors take out $195b from Spain

Spanish and foreign investors have withdrawn a record 160 billion euros ($195 billion) from the struggling eurozone country this year, reflecting concerns over the economic outlook, official data showed Tuesday.The Bank of Spain said investors took out 163.19 billion euros by end-May, a record amount since such statistics were first compiled in 1990 and compared with aggregate deposits of 14.6 billion euros in the same period last year.For all 2011, 68.3 billion euros left the country in search of a safehaven overseas as the Spanish economy slumped deeper into recession. The effect is plain to see, with the Madrid stockmarket down nearly 30 percent so far this year while foreign investor holdings of Spanish debt instruments has plunged to 36.1 percent of the total in June from 56.27 percent a year earlier.