Moody's Downgrades Italy, Spain, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia

Moody's Downgrades Italy, Spain, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia - Moody's Downgrades Eurozone Sovereigns feb 13 2012 : Moody's Investors Service downgraded the ratings on six Eurozone countries, mainly citing the uncertainty over the euro area's prospects for institutional reform of its fiscal and economic framework. At the same time, the agency lowered the outlook on the triple-A ratings of UK, France and Austria to 'negative'.

Moody's said Monday that its has downgraded Italy, Spain, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia with a 'negative' outlook.

Italian debt rating was downgraded to A3 from A2, while Malta too was cut to A3 from A2. Spain saw its rating falling to A3 from A1. The ratings on Portugal was lowered to Ba3 from Ba2. Slovakia and Slovenia have their ratings cut to A2 from A1.


Furthermore, the outlook on the AAA ratings of France, Austria and the United Kingdom was changed to 'negative'. Moody's said the increased uncertainty regarding the pace of fiscal consolidation in the UK due to materially weaker growth prospects over the next few years is the main factor behind the outlook downgrade.

Regarding France, the agency said the country faces challenges from uncertainty over reforms in euro area, the ongoing deterioration in public debt metrics and significant risks to the the government's ability to achieve its fiscal consolidation targets.

Overall, Moody's said it is concerned about the uncertainty over the euro area's prospects for institutional reform of its fiscal and economic framework and the resources that will be made available to deal with the crisis.

Also, Europe's increasingly weak macroeconomic prospects, and the impact these factors will continue to have on market confidence have also contributed to the latest rating action.

According to Moody's, these factors are constraining the creditworthiness of all European sovereigns and exacerbating the susceptibility of a number of sovereigns to particular financial and macroeconomic exposures.

However, on Tuesday, Moody's affirmed its provisional Aaa long-term debt rating on the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), with a continued 'stable' outlook for the debt issuance program.

Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its investment-grade credit ratings on 15 Spanish banks, a month after it cut its ratings on Spain. At the same time, Fitch lowered its ratings on four big Spanish banks.

For the latest updates on the stock market, visit Stock Market Today For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today

Related Post:

European banks

• Reuters expected Euro zone factory output falls
• Moody will publishes Spanish credit rating 9/28/2012
• German Constitutional Court Ruling on the ESM september 12 2012
• ECB Bond-buying scheme monetary outright transactions
• Euro govt Bonds fall before ECB meeting 9/6/2012
• Germans reject ECB Mario Draghi bond buying plan
• Mario Draghi Press conference 6 september 2012
• Why Mario Draghi cancels speech 3 september 2012
• Analysts Predictions ECB Meeting sept 6 2012
• How will ECB Meeting September 6 2012
• German rejected ECB plans supervise big banks
• Eurozone Purchasing Managers PMI report 3 september 2012
• ECB President Mario Draghi will speech at Brussels sept 3 2012
• Europe economic forecast September 2012
• ECB will Buys of Bonds of euro-zone countries
• What Mario Draghi strategy for European crisis
• Mario Draghi speech august 2 2012
• ECB policy meeting august 2 2012
• Mario Draghi speech in london july 26 2012
• German auction of bonds maturing in 2044
• Why investors are scared Spain economic problems
• Gold Prices down impact Spain financial problem
• Will ECB to change financial crisis in Spanish
• European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide loans for Greek firms
• Greek recession predicted 2012