PORTUGAL and GREECE ratings cut by S&P

inspector_monkfish

15:52 27Apr10 -S&P CUTS PORTUGAL RATINGS TO 'A-/A-2'; OUTLOOK NEGATIVE

15:53 27Apr10 -S&P CUTS PORTUGAL'S LONG-TERM RATING TO 'A-' FROM 'A+'

15:53 27Apr10 -S&P CUTS PORTUGAL'S SHORT-TERM RATING TO 'A-2' FROM 'A-1'

15:54 27Apr10 -S&P SAYS PORTUGAL'S RATING OUTLOOK IS NEGATIVE

15:56 27Apr10 -S&P SAYS PORTUGAL'S RATINGS COULD BE CUT AGAIN IF DEFICITS AND DEBT EXCEED EXPECTATIONS

15:58 27Apr10 -S&P SAYS PORTUGAL'S TWO NOTCH DOWNGRADE REFLECTS HEIGHTENED FISCAL RISKS

15:59 27Apr10 -S&P SAYS PORTUGUESE GOVERNMENT MAY NOT STABILIZE HIGH DEBT RATIO UNTIL 2013

15:59 27Apr10 -S&P downgrades Portugal citing debt worries

16:00 27Apr10 -S&P SAYS IT NOW EXPECTS PORTUGAL'S ECONOMY TO STAGNATE IN 2010

16:02 27Apr10 -S&P SAYS IT EXPECTS PORTUGAL'S GOVERNMENT DEBT TO RISE RAPIDLY TO 95 PCT OF GDP BY 2013 FROM 66 PCT IN 2008


NEW YORK, April 27 - Standard & Poor's on Tuesday
downgraded Portugal's ratings citing concerns about its ability to deal with high debt levels given its weak economic outlook.

The agency cut the rating by two notches to A-minus, or four notches above speculative, or "junk" status.

The action "reflects our view of the amplified fiscal risks Portugal faces," said the agency. "Under our revised base case economic growth scenario, we expect the Portuguese government could struggle to stabilize its relatively high debt ratio over the outlook horizon until 2013."

inspector_monkfish

16:22 27Apr10 -S&P CUTS GREECE RTGS TO 'BB+/B'; OTLK NEG; '4' RECOV RTG ASGND
16:23 27Apr10 -RPT-S&P CUTS GREECE RTGS TO 'BB+/B'; OTLK NEG; '4' RECOV RTG ASGND
16:25 27Apr10 -S&P CUTS GREECE'S SOVEREIGN CREDIT RATINGS TO JUNK STATUS
16:25 27Apr10 -S&P SAYS GREECE'S RATING OUTLOOK IS NEGATIVE
16:27 27Apr10 -S&P SAYS THREE NOTCH DOWNGRADE REFLECTS GREECE'S POLITICAL, ECONOMIC CHALLENGES IN REDUCING PUBLIC DEBT
16:30 27Apr10 -S&P SAYS MAY CUT GREECE AGAIN IF GOVERNMENT'S ABILITY TO IMPLEMENT FISCAL AND STRUCTURAL REFORMS WEAKENS
16:31 27Apr10 -S&P downgrades Greece ratings into junk status

NEW YORK, April 27 - Standard & Poor's on Tuesday downgraded Greek ratings into junk territory on concerns about its ability to implement the reforms needed to address its high debt burden.

The agency cut the rating a full three notches to BB-plus, the first level of speculative, or junk, status.

The outlook is negative, meaning the agency could downgrade the rating again.

The action "results from Standard & Poor's updated assessment of the political, economic, and budgetary challenges that the Greek government faces in its efforts to put the public debt burden onto a sustained downward trajectory," S&P said in a statement.

michaels

Cross posts - have a thanks instead

inspector_monkfish

michaels wrote: »

Cross posts - have a thanks instead

I'm not cross.;)

Jonbvn

So when will Barroso bonds be issued?

michaels

Crisis - what crisis? Greece and Portugal downgraded, markets in headlong retreat, no mention on the BBC website....

C_Mababejive

When will they be downgrading the UK?

Greece should never have entered the Euro in the first place.

It is a fine country. I like Greece and I like Greek people..but it isnt an economic powerhouse. I;m guessing its main industries are things like Agriculture and tourism.

It was doing just fine when it had its own currency and I'll wager if it had stayed that way,it wouldnt be in these difficulties. Certainly ,i would be much more able to holiday there and spread some wealth whereas now,in the Eurozone,its getting too expensive to travel.

I hope Greece reverts back to its Drachma and recovers.

I dont think it will be the last casualty in Europe and i dont think UK plc will get off Scot free either.

inspector_monkfish

The PIIGS are eating our money.......

The PIIGS of the European Union are broke. Today’s clever acronym for the EU nations of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain—PIIGS—is quite apt. They have been living high on the hog for years, propping up socialist programs with borrowed money. Now their debts are mountainous, their economies are slowing, and their lenders are leery. Moreover, if we examine the European crisis carefully, we find it has already arrived in America.


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/04/26/the-piigs-are-eating-our-money/#ixzz0mJgC3lXz

http://dailycaller.com/2010/04/26/the-piigs-are-eating-our-money/

Kohoutek

Some fun - German tabloid Bild's open letter to Greece from March:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/mar/05/bild-open-letter-greece-papandreou

Dear prime minister,

If you're reading this, you've entered a country different from yours. You're in Germany.

Here, people work until they are 67 and there is no 14th-month salary for civil servants. Here, nobody needs to pay a €1,000 bribe to get a hospital bed in time.

Our petrol stations have cash registers, taxi drivers give receipts and farmers don't swindle EU subsidies with millions of non-existent olive trees.

Germany also has high debts but we can settle them. That's because we get up early and work all day.

We want to be friends with the Greeks. That's why since joining the euro, Germany has given your country €50bn.

Provocative!

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Greece Declares Unilateral Withdrawal from Reality

ATHENS—The Greek government announced today that Greece was permanently withdrawing from reality, effective immediately. “After careful consideration of all our options, we have determined that this is the best course of action for Greece at this difficult time,” Greek Finance Minister George Papakantpeydabillous said in a statement written in fairy dust.

Asked whether the withdrawal was a response to Greece’s debt crisis, Papakantpeydabillous made clear that the withdrawal was comprehensive. “We’re not just talking about economic reality. We fully intend to ignore reality in every way, shape and form. We’re sick and tired of being straight-jacketed by the inflexible dictates of objective experience,” he said. Papakantpeydabillous added that the withdrawal was not a radical departure for Greece. “Actually, our de facto withdrawal occurred several years ago — we just figured it was time to make it official.”

The action comes after months of hand-wringing in Greece and throughout Europe over the condition of Greek finances and the recent implementation of a drastic austerity plan designed to rein in the nation’s ballooning deficit.

In a move that enraged Greeks throughout the country, the Greek parliament last month passed a sweeping fiscal reform package that includes raising the mandatory retirement age to 26, requiring a 35-hour work-month, and curtailing the popular Greek pastime known as “Euro Bonfire.” Despite these measures, Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical agency, announced earlier today findings that Greece’s 2009 budget deficit was 13.6% of GDP — 10.6 points higher than the EU maximum and 10.7 points lower than the whisper number.

The EU responded to the declaration by issuing a stern objection which noted that “nothing in the EU’s as-yet non-existent constitution permits withdrawal from reality” and that, aside from France, such a withdrawal was unprecedented. In a move to protect its economic interests, the EU Commission filed suit in the European Court of Justice seeking a lien on the Parthenon, and announced that the EU was considering even harsher measures against Greece, including blocking its re-election to the chairmanship of EU Secretariat for Fiscal Stability and Accounting Integrity.

Immediate public reaction in Greece to the withdrawal was enthusiastic. Within minutes of the announcement, protesters in Athens ended a riot over the government’s recent decision to trim spending by substituting Androids for iPhones in its free cellular phone distribution plan. Ulica Miphatassous, 26, a retired Greek hairdresser, was elated. “Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to have the voice of Maria Callas and the desirability of Helen of Troy. Now, thanks to this declaration, I do.” Dr. Manima Layseas, 32, a retired Greek physicist, expressed some hesitation at the blanket withdrawal, noting that Greece’s self-exemption from the laws of gravity and motion “might be problematic in the long run,” but added, “Hey, it’s better than giving up my government-funded happy ending massages.”

Shortly after the declaration was announced Moody’s Investor Service upgraded Greece’s sovereign ratings to “Triple A+ With a Gold Star” and placed them on review for further possible upgrade. “Greece’s withdrawal diminishes the risk of default by eliminating the difficult macroeconomic and financial environment that might otherwise exist were Greece to remain firmly in touch with reality,” said Sarah Carlson, Senior Analyst for Magical Alternatives at Moody’s.
Greek financial markets were mixed in response to the declaration. Prices and yields on Greek government bonds fell, while the benchmark ASE Composite rose to negative 0.

www.zerohedge.com/article/greece-declares-unilateral-withdrawal-reality

lostinrates

Hello.

a serious economics question. why has this been so very impactful on our stock market today? Its not been far out of the financial pages as a source of future grief, and it seems the market reacted fairly strongly, as if this were serious new news...so why ?