Credit Rating | featured news

Fitch downgraded the sovereign credit ratings of Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia and Spain on Friday, indicating there was a 1-in-2 chance of further cuts in the next two years.

Federal prosecutors are stepping up their investigation of Standard & Poor's ratings of troubled mortgage securities during the financial crisis, according to former analysts questioned by prosecutors.

Standard & Poor's ratings agency has downgraded France's credit rating, French television channels reported on Friday, citing a government source.

Moody's on Friday cut Belgium's credit rating by two notches, saying the euro zone debt crisis increases funding risks for countries with high public debt burdens.

The ratings firm Fitch downgraded a cluster of the world's largest banks Thursday, pointing to trading challenges facing international markets. The banks included Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, as well as Europe's Barclays, Societe Generale and BNP Paribas. Germany's Deutsche Bank and Switerzland's Credit Suisse were also downgraded.

Monday's euro-zone downgrade warning by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services is a muscular move by a firm that was pilloried for its supposed laxity in the financial crisis. S&P put the long-term sovereign-debt ratings of 15 euro-zone nations, including struggling Italy and Spain, on negative watch. That typically means there is at least a 50% chance of a downgrade within 90 days, but the firm said Monday that it expected to announce any rating changes "as soon as possible" following this week's European Union summit, where policy makers are expected to lay out plans to enforce stricter budget rules.

Stock indexes gave back some of their gains Monday and the euro turned lower against the dollar following a report that Germany and five other major European nations could risk having their credit ratings downgraded.

Rating agency Fitch downgraded Portugal's rating to junk status on Thursday, citing large fiscal imbalances, high debts and large fiscal imbalances.

The European Union set out proposals for strict new regulations on credit-rating firms in a move it said was aimed in part at diversifying the industry.

Hewlett-Packard Co. had its credit ratings placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service after the company decided to keep its personal computer business.