Tag: Moody’s
Moody’s warns Portugal rating may be cut
Moody’s Investor Service has today put Portugal under review, warning that it may cut its rating by one or two notches. Investors have been nervous over recent weeks as Portugal’s borrowing costs surge and there have been suggestions that it might be forced to seek an emergency bailout, like Greece and Ireland. However, the country’s [...]
Moody’s lowers ratings on five Irish banks
Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded the ratings on five Irish banks – Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland, EBS Building Society, Irish Life and Permanent and Irish Nationwide Building Society. The downgrade came after Moody’s last week slashed Ireland’s credit rating by five notches to Baa1, from Aa2 – citing ongoing uncertainties over the [...]
Moody’s warns Spanish rating may be cut
Ratings agency Moody’s today announced it has put Spanish bonds on watch for a possible downgrade due to its high funding requirements. However, the agency said it does not expect Spain to turn to the EU fund for a bailout. In a statement, Moody’s lead analyst on Spain Kathrin Muehlbronner, said: “Moody’s does not believe [...]
Ireland’s debt rating cut by Fitch
Ireland received yet another blow today after credit agency Fitch cut the country’s debt rating to A+ from AA- with a negative outlook. Fitch said the downgrade was due to massive banking bailouts, which have drained the economy, as well as uncertainty surrounding the fragile recovery. Fitch also cut the short-term foreign currency issuer default [...]
Moody’s warns of further Irish downgrade
Credit rating agency, Moody’s, today warned it may downgrade Ireland’s credit rating again, due to its ailing banking system. In addition, the agency said weak economic growth and rising borrowing costs could lead to the further cut. In July, Moody’s cut Ireland’s sovereign bond rating to Aa2 from Aa1. Other agencies, Standard & Poor’s and [...]
Moody’s downgrade Spanish debt to Aa1
Credit rating agency Moody’s has downgraded Spain’s credit rating today – just a day after unions held a general strike to protest against tough austerity measures. Like many other euro zone nations, Spain has introduced austerity measures, aimed at cutting its budget deficit, which is currently 11% of GDP. Spain aims to reduce the deficit [...]
Anglo Irish debt rating cut by Moody’s
Troubled lender, Anglo Irish Bank, has today had its debt rating slashed by credit agency Moody’s, sending the euro down against the US dollar. Moody’s cut the bank’s senior unsecured debt by three notches to Baa3 – just one notch above junk status. It also downgraded Anglo Irish’s subordinated debt by six notches to Caa1. [...]
August public sector borrowing higher than expected
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed public sector net borrowing totalled £15.302 billion in August – a record high for the month. The figure was higher as interest payments on gilts rose because of higher inflation. It was also much higher than the £12.51 billion expected by analysts. However, despite this, receipts [...]
Moody’s: UK credit rating safe
Credit rating agency Moody’s has today said the UK’s top-ranked AAA credit rating is safe, as a result of the tough austerity measures, introduced by the coalition Government. Despite slower economic growth, the rating agency said the outlook for the UK’s public finances remained stable. There have been fears that the tough measures, announced by [...]
Euro falls on Portugal debt rating downgrade
Credit rating agency Moody’s Investor Service has today cut Portugal’s debt rating by two notches, sending the euro down against the dollar and the pound. Moody’s downgraded Portugal’s rating by two notches to A1, citing weak growth and suggesting it may need fresh austerity measures next year to reach fiscal targets. However, in a statement, [...]
Moody’s join other agencies and downgrades BP’s credit rating
Oil giant BP suffered another blow today after Moody’s credit rating agency downgraded the company’s credit rating by three notches, from A2 to Aa2. The downgrade follows similar moves from the two other major international credit ratings agencies, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s, who also downgraded the company‘s rating. In a statement today, Moody’s said [...]
Moody’s downgrade Greece to ‘junk’ status
Moody’s credit rating agency has cut Greece’s credit rating to “junk” status from A3 to Ba1 but said the outlook is stable. Meanwhile, the agency also downgraded the country’s short-term issuer rating to not-prime from Prime-1. According to Moody’s, there was still “considerable uncertainty” surrounding the impact of tough austerity measures implemented to slash the [...]
US banks under investigation
Eight Wall Street banks are facing an investigation following allegations that they provided misleading information to several ratings agencies in order to gain a better rating for mortgage securities. New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, has launched the investigation and the banks under scrutiny are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, UBS AG, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche [...]
Credit rating agencies to be investigated after euro zone downgrades
Michel Barnier, the European Internal Markets Commissioner, has pledged to investigate credit rating agencies after a series of downgrades to Greece’s debt. Mr Barnier told the European Parliament he had been surprised by the rapid deterioration of Greece’s rating. Last week, Greece became the first euro zone nation to have its debt downgraded to “junk” [...]
Pre-Budget Report: Chancellor told Britain facing ‘fiscal crisis’
Today is the day of the Pre-Budget Report and Chancellor Alistair Darling will give more detailed plans about how the Government intends to halve the £180 billion deficit. Moody’s credit rating agency has warned that Britain is facing a “fiscal crisis” unless the Government takes action to pay off the debt or risk losing its [...]
Remortgages enter risky loan category
Moody’s Investor Services has categorised remortgages as having “adverse loan characterisics”, indicating that they carry some of the risks associated with a high default rate. In a recent report entitled “What drives UK mortgage loans to default” the credit rating agency places remortgages alongside other risky loans, based on data gathered on mortgages that originated [...]
