Credit Rating Terrorists attack Spain

[marmar]

Spain Loses AAA Rating at Fitch Amid Deficit Crisis (Update1)
By Esteban Duarte and Charles Penty


May 28 (Bloomberg) -- Spain lost its AAA credit grade at Fitch Ratings as it struggles to cut debt amid a fiscal crisis that prompted the European Union to forge an almost $1 trillion bailout package for the region’s weakest economies.

The ratings company cut the grade one step to AA+ and assigned it a “stable” outlook, according to a statement from London today. Spain has held the top rating at Fitch since 2003. Standard & Poor’s lowered Spain’s ratings to AA on April 28.

U.S. stocks extended losses after Fitch’s announcement, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index sliding 1.3 percent to 1,089.21 at 12:39 p.m. in New York. The euro weakened 0.5 percent to $1.2303.

“The process of adjustment to a lower level of private sector and external indebtedness will materially reduce the rate of growth of the Spanish economy over the medium- term,” Brian Coulton, Fitch’s head of Europe, Middle East and Africa sovereign ratings in London, said in the statement.

Spain’s parliament yesterday approved the country’s deepest budget cuts in 30 years by a single vote, casting doubt on the future of the government as Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero seeks to garner support for his 2011 budget. Spain has the third-largest budget deficit in the euro region. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a5flzkIWKSAk&pos=1

[FLPanhandle]

1. How is assessing a countries ability to repay it's debt terrorism?

Should they not say anything? Stick their heads in the sand and pretend all is well?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

6. When it pretends to be that, but it's another thing. -nt

[Hannah Bell]

13. they should stfu & be grateful the peasants haven't come for their lying, cheating, armani-suited

asses with pitchforks for crashing the world economy, that's what they should do.

they owe *us* money, not the reverse.

[Statistical]

2. So if they upgraded Spain and Spain defaulted you would stand up for them? n/t

[girl gone mad]

15. You might want to remember who it was..

that encouraged these countries to create more debt in the first place (even in surplus years), and who it was that profited from the creation of all that debt.

[OllieLotte]

3. Be a hero...buy Spanish bonds.

Let us know how that works out for you.

[Greyhound]

4. Wow, three non-replies from the pro-ponzi party in 5 minutes!

Congratulations!
:party:
:kick: & R

[marmar]

5. Teehee....

:P

[Catherina]

7. Strange. I had the same thought

I had the same thought over in the Venezuela thread. This one only confirmed things.

Glad to know it wasn't just me.

[leftstreet]

8. It's amazing!

[Greyhound]

9. LOL!

I'm a bit surprised that that picture is not banned from DU.
:thumbsup:
:kick:

[glitch]

19. That is beautiful. nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

18. Umm, what?

We're in this financial mess in part because rating agencies were overrating.

[Hawkowl]

10. Governments have special forces

I think these engineered financial crisis and defaults are only going to stop when one of these governments sends a commando type group to arrest and or exterminate some of these "banksters" a la the "war on drugs".

Notice you don't hear about any debt crisis or default risk on much sicker Eastern European economies. I believe it is because if Goldman Sachs et al tried to pull a Greece or Spain on Russia or one of the other former Warsaw pact countries, they would end up dead or imprisoned.

Putin pretty much sent a very clear signal when he arrested the oil tycoons. Just an observation.

[Statistical]

11. Most ex Soviet countries ALREADY have bad credit rating.

However Spain, Italy and even Greece until recently were rated very high and thus were able to enjoy very low interest rates.

The ratings were likely too high.

Spain debt for example was rated the highest (AAA) same rating as the United States and higher than the company GE.
GE was dropped from AAA to AA in 2009. Was S&P being a bond terrorist against GE?

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2009-03-12-ge-credit-rating_N.htm

To put this into perspective for S&P less than 5% of countries in the world have a AAA rating and only 4 companies in the S&P 500 have a AAA rating. It is the gold standard.

Spain simply is no longer in that top 5% of the class "club". Still an AA rating isn't exactly "crap". No AA rating municipal or sovereign debt has ever defaulted.

If you had to buy a bond right now. All your life savings into a single entity which would you pick GE or Spain?

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. What, you mean like:

Latvia’s Rating Cut to Junk by S&P as Outlook Worsens

Or, if you want a big target:

S&P cuts Russia's credit rating

[FLPanhandle]

14. Or Governments stop borrowing

It's one thing to complain about loans, but no country HAS to borrow money. When times are good, set up s surplus account. When times are bad, use it.

[girl gone mad]

16. Easier said than done.

Just take a look at how many inside men Goldman Sachs has planted at the top levels of our government if you want to know why.

[FLPanhandle]

17. That comes down to the people

It's amazing that all these people will protest in Greece and Spain about spending cuts, why the fuck weren't they protesting about the government borrowing in the first place.

Citizens need to stop allowing their governments to mortgage out their futures.

[sendero]

20. Citizens..

.... demanding services from the govt is where this debt comes from in the first place. That and a complete unwillingness to make the rich pay their share.

[depakid]

21. To be expected, since the Obama administration failed to hold them accountable

for their role in some of the largest financial frauds ever perpetrated.