Europe: Bye, Bye, Aaa ; Unhappy New Year Promises Downgrades Across the Indebted Eurozone

Summary

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Credit-rating agencies are taking a hard look at European Union countries and don't like what they see. Many of those nations won't enjoy a happy new year after their credit is downgraded. This will throw all of Europe into a financial tailspin.

Fitch Ratings issued warnings for possible downgrades for Italy and Spain, the third- and fourth-largest economies in the EU, as well as Ireland, Belgium, Cyprus and Slovenia, explaining ominously that a "comprehensive solution to the eurozone crisis is technically and politically beyond reach." For the time being, it has maintained France's nominal rating at AAA but views its outlook as negative, so France's grasp on that important AAA status remains uncertain. In Hungary, talks with the International Monetary Fund broke off, and Greece's negotiations with private bondholders are at a standstill.

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Europe: Bye, Bye, Aaa ; Unhappy New Year Promises Downgrades Across the Indebted Eurozone

Standard & Poor's has put 15 of the 17 eurozone countries on a downgrade watch, citing the worsening of the d...

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