Mamta Badkar, Business InsiderJune 11, 2012 11:41

India's slow GDP growth and its political hurdles to economic policymaking are two key reasons that India risks losing its investment-grade rating, according to a new report from Standard & Poor's.

Is New Europe out-gunning the Old?

Paul AmesJanuary 20, 2012 07:33

COIMBRA, Portugal — An end-of-year journey in the East and West paints a stark contrast in Europe. But it may be deceiving.

Michael GoldfarbJanuary 17, 2012 13:39

European economic daily news round-up

At market close: bonds sell, stocks up, inflation down

Yesterday's late breaking news that Standard & Poor's was downgrading the European Financial Stability Fund from AAA in line with its earlier downgrade of France hardly made a ripple in today's bond action.

The EFSF, once promoted as one of the main tools for preventing the spread of the debt crisis to the euro zone's bigger economies, held an auction of short term bonds today and sold 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) worth of them.

Moody's rating of France's credit to be issued in Q1 2012

News DeskJanuary 16, 2012 18:23

French President shrugs off his country's credit troubles at a press conference saying it "changes nothing."

Michael GoldfarbJanuary 16, 2012 14:12

European economic news round-up

Quiet day in the financial markets but heating up elsewhere

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The Occupy movement has begun setting up Camp Igloo in Davos in advance of next week's annual World Economic Forum meeting. (Sean Gallup/AFP/Getty Images)

Update: S&P has just announced it is making one more downgrade, to a critical issuer of European debt: the European Financial Stability Fund has lost its AAA rating. In parallel with France, it has gone from AAA to AA+.

Last Friday, Standard & Poor's downgraded several euro-zone countries credit ratings, most notably France, which went from AAA to AA+. The headline the next day Britain's Guardian newspaper was "Friday the 13th" with its attendant implications of misfortune.

Today, there was no sign of Jason Voorhees ripping up Europe. The financial markets shrugged everything off. The CAC 40 in Paris finished up 0.9 percent while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt closed up 1.25 percent. The FTSE in London was up 0.4 percent. Not exciting but not negative.

Michael GoldfarbJanuary 16, 2012 10:35

Euro zone credit ratings downgrade ... reactions

Friday's Standard & Poor's downgrade of several euro zone countries' credit ratings have only made the faintest ripple across the continent

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French Prime Minister Francois Fillon shrugs off the Standard & Poor's downgrade of France's credit rating late Friday and visits the site of a big infrastructure project: the Cite du Cinema in suburban Paris (BERTRAND GUAY/AFP/Getty Images)

Given the hysteria that greeted the announcement that Standard & Poor's was taking away France's AAA rating (along with that of Austria leaving Germany the only euro zone country with the top rating) - at least in the press - you might have thought the euro zone crisis was going to explode again. Not so.

That isn't to say some political leaders weren't angry. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was, following Spain's downgrade to A from AA-, according to this headline in El Pais.

Rajoy to Standard & Poor's: we don't need economic lessons:

"My government knows perfectly well what it needs to do to improve Spain's reputation, stimulate growth and create jobs," PM fires back after rating downgrade.

Michael GoldfarbJanuary 13, 2012 13:44

Europe: daily economic round-up

Downgrades coming?

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Going, going, gone. Rumor has it France is about to lose its AAA rating form Standard & Poor's. What will that mean for the euro zone debt crisis? (THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images)

UPDATE; THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THAT STANDARD & POOR'S HAS DOWNGRADED THE COUNTRY'S CREDIT RATING ONE NOTCH FROM AAA TO AA+.

"It's not good news, but it's not a catastrophe," said French Finance Minister Francois Baroin. "It's not ratings agencies that decide French policy."

The day - and the week - ends with rumors swirling that Standard & Poor's is preparing to issue credit downgrades for a number of euro zone countries including France. How strong are the rumors? If S & P doesn't drop France a notch or two from AAA every newspaper and most of the financial community in Europe is going to feel real embarrassed.

The rumor has sent stock markets down. The euro has lost more than a cent against the dollar.

Michael GoldfarbDecember 16, 2011 04:48

Ratings war: Who deserves the AAA?

Head of France's Central Bank ruffles some British feathers as he claims France deserves a AAA from Standard & Poor's more than Britain.

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Bank of France governor Christian Noyer has ruffled feathers in Britain with comments on Britain's credit worthiness (ROSLAN RAHMAN/YouTube)

Head of France's Central Bank ruffles some British feathers as he claims France deserves a AAA from Standard & Poor's more than Britain.

Michael GoldfarbDecember 8, 2011 12:23

Euro summit: something to kill time with while waiting for the fate of the world to be decided

Which country is the greatest credit risk? The one S & P is thinking of downgrading from AAA or the one whose interest rates are low and whose AAA seems to be copper fastened?

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Wonder what he's thinking? Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos arrives for his first EU summit. (GEORGES GOBET/AFP/Getty Images)

IN the next 24 hours, while the leaders of the EU, have dinner and decide the fate of the global economy and the coming epoch in history. (Hyperbole always precedes reality.) You could do worse than peruse Euromoney Country Risk published by Euromoney magazine.