Moody's Cuts Credit Ratings on 15 Major Banks
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Moody's Investors Service has lowered the ratings of some of the world's largest banks, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

The ratings agency said late Thursday that the banks were downgraded because their long-term prospects for profitability and growth are shrinking. » | Associated Press | Thursday, June 21, 2012

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Debt Crisis: Moody's Downgrade of Britain's Banks to Hit Families
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Home owners and businesses face having to pay higher interest rates following a downgrade in the credit ratings of Britain’s biggest banks, analysts warned on Thursday.

Moody’s, a leading international ratings agency, on Thursday night cut its scores for Barclays, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland because of the eurozone crisis.

Senior politicians warned the banks not to use the downgrade as an excuse to charge more for borrowing on the high street.

The downgrade coincided with a warning from the CBI, Britain’s biggest business group, that the fragile economic recovery was at risk of being “choked off by a lack of finance”.

Credit ratings help determine what banks must pay to borrow money on international markets. The lower the rating, the higher the interest rates they pay and the more collateral they must offer. » | James Kirkup, Deputy Political Editor | Thursday, June 21, 2012

Fitch Downgrades Five Eurozone Economies
BBC: Fitch ratings agency has downgraded five eurozone economies, including Italy and Spain, citing financial weakness during the debt crisis.

Italy was downgraded two notches to A- from A+, while Spain was also lowered two levels to A from AA-.

Belgium, Slovenia and Cyprus were also downgraded, while Fitch cut its outlook for the Republic of Ireland.

Earlier this month, Standard & Poor's agency downgraded nine eurozone eoconomies, including France. » | Friday, January 27, 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

Portugal and Greece Downgraded on Debt Worries
BBC: Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has downgraded struggling Greece and Portugal on further debt worries.

S&P says investors in their bonds could lose out under the terms of a new eurozone bail-out package.

The move pushed up the countries' borrowing costs as lenders demanded a higher rate of return for buying government bonds.

The downgrades left Portugal one notch above junk rating and Greece's creditworthiness below that of Egypt. » | Tuesday, March 29, 2011