Ratings Agency terrorists menace London, Paris and Vienna

[marmar]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rating agency Moody's warned it may cut the triple-A ratings of France, Britain and Austria and it downgraded six other European nations including Italy, Spain and Portugal, citing growing risks from Europe's debt crisis.

Moody's move was less aggressive than rival agency Standard & Poor's, but its action puts London's prized top credit rating in jeopardy for the first time.

It said it was worried about Europe's ability to undertake the reforms needed to address the crisis and the amount of funds available to fight it. It also said the region's weak economy could undermine austerity drives by governments to fix their finances.

The euro and sterling fell after the announcement, with pound falling 0.4 percent to $1.5703 and the single currency dipping 0.3 percent to $1.3154. European and U.S. equity index futures were also lower. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-ratings-europetre81c28d-20120213,0,707118.story

[Cassandra]

1. "weak economy could undermine austerity drives"

Austerity is adding to the weak economy!

[Nuclear Unicorn]

2. "terrorists"?

Isn't this sort of hyperbole as dangerous as it is absurd?

Do you really propose sending the police and military to menace a bunch of accountants and stasticians?

[marmar]

3. Dangerous?

Dios mio. I didn't realize a (clearly) intentionally hyperbolic blog post headline had that much power.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

4. No more intentionally hyperbolic than

a map with crosshairs over congressional districts. Calling people "terrorists" is no small thing.

[marmar]

5. I think you're being a bit dramatic, but whatever.

nt

[Nuclear Unicorn]

6. As my hubby says, "Flip the script"

If we don't want to be like the people we disagree with we should stop being like them. I'm not asking for censorship, just a tad more concern when using rhetoric that is often the domain of those who employ nothing but vitriol.