South Africa's Currency Tumbles On Credit Rating Cut

Fitch Threatens to Strip America of 'AAA' Credit Rating

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Rating agency says it could slash America's prized rating, while further delays to raising the debt ceiling will damage the country's credibility

Fitch has warned that it could strip America of its prized "AAA" credit rating, amid heightening fears that the world’s largest economy is headed for a default.

Prolonged negotiations in Washington risk “undermining confidence in the role of the US dollar as the preeminent global reserve currency, by casting doubt over the full faith and credit of the US,” Fitch said, as it placed the country on "negative watch". » | Katherine Rushton, US Business Editor | Tuesday, October 15, 2013

From Stable to Negative: Moody's Cuts Outlook for Germany's Top Rating
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The debt crisis is threatening Germany's top credit rating. Moody's changed its outlook for Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to negative from stable late on Monday. The German Finance Ministry said the country would remain an anchor of stability in the 17-nation euro zone.

Moody's Investors Service on Monday cut its outlook for Germany's creditworthiness to "negative" from "stable," but confirmed the country's triple-A rating.

Moody's also cut its outlook for the Netherlands and Luxembourg, which also have triple-A ratings, to negative from stable. Finland kept its stable outlook.

The ratings agency said the move was due to growing uncertainty caused by the debt crisis.

It said there was an increased chance that Greece could leave the euro zone, which "would set off a chain of financial sector shocks ... that policymakers could only contain at a very high cost."

It also warned that Germany and other countries rated AAA might have to increase support for ailing countries such as Spain and Italy. The burden of that support would fall most heavily on the euro zone's top-rated states, it said. » | cro -- with wire reports | Tuesday, July 24, 2012

U.S. Rating Faces 2013 Cut If No Credible Plan: Fitch
REUTERS.COM: Fitch Ratings reiterated on Thursday it would cut its sovereign credit rating for the United States next year if Washington cannot come to grips with its deficits and create a "credible" fiscal consolidation plan.

It also said it would immediately cut the credit ratings on Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal if Greece were to exit the euro zone. Additionally, all euro zone nations would have their ratings put on its negative ratings watch list, setting a six-month time frame for a potential downgrade.

Europe's ongoing sovereign credit crisis undermines already below-trend growth seen in the United States, the world's biggest economy.

"The United States is the only country (of four major AAA-rated countries) which does not have a credible fiscal consolidation plan," and its debt-to-GDP ratio, or how much debt it has relative to the size of the economy, is expected to increase over the medium term, Ed Parker, sovereign ratings analyst, told a Fitch conference in New York.

Lower credit ratings typically lead to higher borrowing costs, putting more strain on government balance sheets already straining to cut spending without sending their economies into a tailspin. » | Jed Horowitz | NEW YORK | Thursday, June 07, 2012

REUTERS DEUTSCHLAND: Ratingagentur Fitch senkt Spaniens Bonitätsnote » | Donnerstag, 07. Juni 2012

Spain's Struggle with High Unemployment
More people are out of work in Spain now than at any time since records began. The new figures, announced on Friday, show that almost a quarter of the workforce are now unemployed. It comes just a day after ratings agency Standard and Poor's cut the country's credit rating two notches to Class B. with warnings that the country's economy could get worse. Al Jazeera's Sonia Gallego reports now from Madrid.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: S and P cuts Spain's credit rating by two notches to BBB+: Standard and Poor's cut Spain's sovereign debt rating Thursday by two notches, warning that the government's budget situation is worsening and that is likely to have to prop up its banks. » | AFP | Thursday, April 26, 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: S and P downgrades Spain: the full document » | Thursday, April 26, 2012

Credit Agency Warns British Government
Moody's slaps negative outlook on Britain's triple-A rating, saying eurozone crisis is intertwinned the country's fortunes.

Moody's Issues Credit Warnings on Nine European Countries Including the UK
THE GUARDIAN: Negative outlook for Austria, France and the UK. Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia and Slovenia have ratings cut

Britain's AAA credit rating was thrown into doubt after the ratings agency Moody's said the ongoing euro crisis and a credit squeeze on the banking sector put the country at a higher risk of defaulting on its debts.

Moody's said that countries including the UK, France and Italy would be put on negative watch after citing "uncertainty" over Europe's handling of its ongoing debt crisis.

The possible loss of the UK's much coveted triple-A status will be a bitter blow for the chancellor George Osborne who has staked his reputation on distancing Britain from the ailing eurozone.

Riots and looting on the streets of Athens highlighted the confusion at the highest levels of the European political establishment over how to deal with the mounting debts faced by Greece. Brussels rejected handing over €130bn without further commitments from the Athens parliament and proposals for further cuts to be implemented this year.

Osborne was expected to stick to his aim of reducing Britain's "structural deficit" by 2017 when he stands up in parliament next month to deliver his third budget since the coalition took power in 2010.

But the verdict of Moody's will add to the pressure from opposition MPs and many economists on him to change course. Moody's said it was concerned that he would miss previous targets to cut the deficit by 2015.

The AAA rating is the highest awarded to a country and allows it to borrow at the lowest interest rates. » | Dominic Rushe and Phillip Inman | Monday, February 13, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: UK austerity v US stimulus: divide deepens as eurozone cuts continue: The emphasis in Europe is on fiscal rigour and slashed budgets, but there is a growing awareness such policies are not working » | Phillip Inman, Ian Traynor in Brussels and Dominic Rushe in New York | Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Eurozone Has Long Road Ahead: Germany
Angel Merkel, the German Chancellor has warned Europe has a long way to go to solve its debt crisis, after Standard and Poor's downgraded the credit ratings of nine European countries.

The rating's agency says the Eurozone countries are not as safe a bet for investment as they once were. France know joins Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus as fellow victims of the economic downturn.

Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reports from Paris.

Europe Had It Coming, Says PM

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: THE Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has rubbed salt into the wounds of European nations reeling from weekend credit downgrades, declaring they had it coming for avoiding tough decisions.

Speaking after Standard & Poor's stripped France and Austria of their AAA ratings and downgraded Italy, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, Malta, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, Ms Gillard said the moves were the "price to be paid" by governments that had put off reforms.

"For too many years, European governments have deferred the nation-building, productivity-enhancing reforms which Australia has made the foundation of our dynamic and resilient economy," she said yesterday.

"In stark contrast to Europe", Australia had strict fiscal rules that would return it to surplus in 2012-13. European leaders should "swiftly undertake structural reforms to boost their economic potential and lift growth". » | Peter Martin, Matt O'Sullivan | Monday, January 16, 2012

Eurozone in New Crisis as Ratings Agency Downgrades Nine Countries
THE GUARDIAN: Standard & Poor's strips France of its AAA credit rating, rekindling fears in the markets over future of single currency

Europe has been plunged into a fresh crisis after France was stripped of its coveted AAA credit rating in a mass downgrade of nine eurozone countries by the ratings agency Standard & Poor's.

S&P said austerity was driving Europe even deeper into financial crisis as it also cut Austria's triple-A rating, and relegated Portugal and Cyprus to junk status.

The humiliating loss of France's top-rated status leaves Germany as the only other major economy inside the eurozone with a AAA rating, and rekindled financial market anxiety about a possible break-up of the single currency.

S&P brought an abrupt end to the uneasy calm that has existed in the eurozone since the turn of the year by downgrading the ratings of Cyprus, Italy, Portugal and Spain by two notches. Austria, France, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia were all cut by one notch.

The agency said that its actions on eurozone ratings were "primarily driven by insufficient policy measures by EU leaders to fully address systemic stresses". It added that fiscal austerity alone "risks becoming self-defeating". » | Larry Elliott and Phillip Inman | Friday, January 13, 2012

Fitch Downgrades Hungary to Junk
Jan. 6 - Hungary's government said it was surprised by ratings agency Fitch's decision to downgrade the country's credit rating to junk, which followed similar moves by Moody's and Standard & Poor's. Joanna Partridge reports

France Avoids Downgrade

Italy's Credit Rating Slashed Amid Eurozone Warnings

THE INDEPENDENT: Moody's lowered its rating on Italy's bonds by three notches on today, saying it saw a "material increase" in funding risks for eurozone countries with high levels of debt and warning that further downgrades were possible.

The agency downgraded Italy to A2 from Aa2, a lower rating than it holds on Estonia and on a par with Malta and kept a negative outlook on the rating.

The euro pared gains against the dollar and Japanese yen immediately following the announcement which comes after Moody's rival Standard and Poor's cut its rating on Italy by one notch to A/A-1 on Sept. 19.

The cuts underline growing investor concern about the eurozone's third largest economy, which is now firmly at the centre of the debt crisis and dependent on help from the European Central Bank to keep its borrowing costs under control.

"The negative outlook reflects on[-]going economic and financial risks in Italy and in the euro area," Moody's said in a statement.

"The uncertain market environment and the risk of further deterioration in investor sentiment could constrain the country's access to the public debt markets," it said. » | Reuters | Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Greece Given World's Lowest Credit Rating
Standard & Poor's has cut Greece's credit rating by three notches to CCC, the lowest rating of any sovereign nation in the world, as European finance ministers prepare to discuss a new aid package for the country.

The agency said it believed that Greece's recession "could well persist into 2012 and thus may further erode internal political support for the revised EU/IMF programme".

Greece responded by accusing Standard & Poor's of ignoring reform efforts in Athens and European Union talks on debt aid.

Al Jazeera's Paul Brennan and Alan Fisher report from Athens.

Greek Debt Price Soars as Moody's Cuts Credit Rating Below Egypt
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Greek government has reacted angrily to Moody's decision to cut the country's credit rating below that of Egypt, a move that prompted investors to dump the debt of other struggling European economies.

The country's debt was lowered to B1 from Ba1, as the ratings agency warned that Greece faces a shortfall in tax revenue and huge challenges in reforming state-owned companies and its costly healthcare system.

"The sheer magnitude of the task is becoming ever more apparent," said Sarah Carlson, an analyst at Moody's.

The Greek Finance Ministry yesterday described Moody's move as "totally unjustfied".

"Having completely missed the build-up of risk that led to the global financial crisis in 2008, the rating agencies are now competing with each other to be the first to identify risks that will lead to the next crisis," it said. Continue reading and comment >>> Richard Blackden | Monday, March 07, 2011

Moody’s Slashes Ireland’s Credit Rating
THE NEW YORK TIMES: BRUSSELS — Even as Europe’s leaders were praising the Irish government’s deficit-cutting efforts, the country received a dramatically different verdict Friday from a credit rating agency: a steep downgrade and a warning of more to come.

Having pledged late Thursday to do “whatever is required” to contain the debt crisis and defend their embattled currency, European Union leaders reconvened for the final day of a summit meeting. In the draft of a closing statement, the leaders welcomed the “impressive progress” in Dublin toward meeting the stiff conditions set for its recent bailout, including adoption of steep budget cuts.

Moody’s Investors Service had a different assessment, however. It cut Ireland’s credit rating by five notches to Baa1, with a negative outlook, from Aa2 and said further downgrades could follow.

The downgrade represented a further blow for a county that has enacted deep austerity cuts — and it is likely to raise questions about whether the rating agencies are exacerbating the efforts of struggling euro countries to emerge from the crisis. >>> Stephen Castle and Matthew Saltmarsh | Friday, December 17, 2010

Flag of China. Image: Google Images
Chinese Rating Agency Strips Western Nations of AAA Status
THE TELEGRAPH: China's leading credit rating agency has stripped America, Britain, Germany and France of their AAA ratings, accusing Anglo-Saxon competitors of ideological bias in favour of the West.

Dagong Global Credit Rating Co used its first foray into sovereign debt to paint a revolutionary picture of creditworthiness around the world, giving much greater weight to "wealth creating capacity" and foreign reserves than Fitch, Standard & Poor's, or Moody's.

The US falls to AA, while Britain and France slither down to AA-. Belgium, Spain, Italy are ranked at A- along with Malaysia.

Meanwhile, China rises to AA+ with Germany, the Netherlands and Canada, reflecting its €2.4 trillion (£2 trillion) reserves and a blistering growth rate of 8pc to 10pc a year.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, chief of the International Monetary Fund, agreed on Monday that the rising East is a transforming global force. "Asia's time has come," he said. >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor | Monday, July 12, 2010