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Posted by
Olog-hai
on Sat Jan 14 12:28:12 2012, in response to EUEUEUEUEU Olog, posted by RockParkMan on Sat Nov 12 14:58:17 2011.
edf40wrjww2msgDetailOT:detailStr fiogf49gjkf0d So the ratings agencies ought to just go after the "Anglosphere" and leave them untouched. Oh, those hypocrites. (S&P downgraded nine countries.)
EurActiv
Rehn slams 'inconsistent' credit rating downgradesJeremy Fleming
Published 14 January 2012France and Austria lost their triple-A credit ratings yesterday evening — an ill-starred Friday 13th January — as seven other eurozone countries were also downgraded by US-based credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P).
The move was described by European leaders as 'political' and 'inconsistent', and China claimed the move cast doubt on the credibility of credit ratings agencies.
The two triple-A economies were nudged down one notch by S&P, to AA+, but retain top AAA rating from the other two main ratings agencies, Moody's and Fitch.
Two notches were struck from the ratings of Italy (to BBB+), Spain (to A), Cyprus (to BB+) and Portugal (to BB), while Germany kept its AAA rating, with a stable outlook. One notch was knocked from Malta (to A−), Slovakia (to A) and Slovenia (to A+).
Rumors of S&P's move prompted stock market volatility earlier in the day, but there was some stabilization before markets closed.Austrian bank chief says move was politicalS&P cited Austria's economic exposure to recession-struck Italy, and banking exposure to debt-riddled Hungary, as reasons.
But the head of the Bank of Austria described the move to downgrade so many countries in the eurozone simultaneously as 'clearly political', a sentiment echoed by the country's finance minister.
"Today's rating actions are primarily driven by our assessment that the policy initiatives that have been taken by European policymakers in recent weeks may be insufficient to fully address ongoing systemic stresses in the eurozone," said S&P in its statement.
The agency said the plan currently being discussed by eurozone leaders — to limit governments' future borrowing — was based on a misdiagnosis of the cause of the financial crisis. It said the crisis was more to do with trade deficits and a loss of competitiveness by "periphery" eurozone economies such as Italy and Spain, than excess borrowing by governments.Not a catastrophe for FranceBut Economic Affairs Commissioner, Olli Rehn, said that he regretted S&P's 'inconsistent decision' made "at a time when the euro area has taken decisive action in all fronts of its crisis response."
Michael Fuchs, deputy leader of the ruling German Christian Democrats, said: "This step is out of order. Standard and Poor's must stop playing politics. Why doesn't it act on the highly indebted United States or highly indebted Britain?"
He added: "If the agency downgrades France, it should also downgrade Britain in order to be consistent."
"It's not good news, but it's not a catastrophe," French finance minister Francois Baroin said following emergency talks called by President Nicolas Sarkozy with the prime minister and other key ministers.
He said the French government would not change policy course as a result, adding: "It's not ratings agencies that decide French policy."Chinese join in criticism of S&POfficial Chinese channels also condemned the S&P decision. News agency Xinhua, which often represents the Chinese government's official view, said in a commentary: "The Standard and Poor's (S&P) downgrade move, though containing some legitimate concerns, also raised fresh doubts over the credibility of ratings agencies."
"As the crisis is showing tentative signs of receding, the S&P's overwhelming downgrade has once again weighed on the market and dented investors' confidence," Xinhua said.
The downgrades — especially of Austria and France — will put pressure on the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which has already been used to rescue Portugal and the Irish Republic. The EFSF is guaranteed by the eurozone governments, and therefore relies on their creditworthiness.
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