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’Moody’s downgrades Portugal on… Greece fears
Well, sort of. The full rationale behind Portugal’s downgrade to Ba2 from Baa1, with negative outlook, is pasted below.
Moody’s offers two main reasons. The second is Portugal’s ongoing high-debt-low-growth mash-up.
Moody’s on Spanish regional debt
Because what the world needed, as Europe stumbles toward some kinds of resolution for Greece, was another Moody’s warning.
Today’s edition is on Spanish regional debt (we’ve highlighted the main bits):
Credit rating cliff risk, redux
And the slow drain of financial crisis support from formerly ‘TBTF’ banks continues apace.
On Thursday, Moody’s announced it would be putting the credit ratings of Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo on review for downgrade after taking a closer look at incoming financial reform:
Greece lightning
If you thought those Greek downgrades were flying thick and fast, you’d be right. According to Evolution’s Brian Barry, Greek ratings are falling about 30 times the average rate:
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- Moodys to review UK bank ratings — statement.
- Marks & Spencer lifts dividends by 13 per cent; cautious on outlook — statement.
- De La Rue announces corporate shake-up;
Surprise – Moody’s accidentally rates a bond too low
Is there a Type III ratings error category? Where rating agencies completely misidentify what kind of bond they’re rating? Awkward:
(H/T Sam Jones of Moody’s rating error fame)
Spanish covered bond disclosure. It’s the (unheeded) law
Moody’s is on the warpath against sketchy Spanish structured finance data again.
But this time the agency’s sites are firmly set on the mother of all SF — covered bonds.
Remember, covered bonds are meant to be ultra-safe — almost to the same degree as sovereigns bonds — and Spain has spent many of the previous months trying to soothe investors with new disclosure rules.
One step from junk
Moody’s has cut Ireland’s sovereign rating by two notches to Baa3 on Friday and with the outlook on negative the Irish find themselves one step from junk.
From Moody’s:
Frankfurt am Main, April 15,
Japan, to buy or not to buy?
It’s still early days yet on the “what next” question about Japan, but as we noted on Monday, there are some intriguingly counter-intuitive lines emerging on the question of whether to ‘buy’ (or ‘sell’) Japan in the wake of the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami and ensuing crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The ripple effect reaches local US governments
The municipal bond market has calmed in the last two weeks as the flight from disaster ushers in a return to relatively safe havens.
But as two annual reports released by Moody’s on Thursday make clear,
Moody’s downgrades Portugal to A3 from A1
So concludes the credit rating agency’s latest review of the eurozone periphery, which began in December.
From the Moody’s release on Tuesday evening (extracts):
Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded Portugal’s long-term government bond ratings to A3 from A1 and assigned a negative outlook.
Shooting the messenger – Spanish edition
It’s not quite as forceful as the Greek response — not yet anyway — but Spain has hit back at Thursday’s Moody’s downgrade.
Via Reuters:
RTRS-SPAIN’S TREASURY SAYS SURPRISED BY MOODY’S DOWNGRADE BEFORE BANK OF SPAIN BANK CAPITALISATION DATA.
Shoot the messenger [updated]
How’s this for an ad hominem:
RTRS-GREECE SAYS MOODY’S DOWNGRADE COMPLETELY UNJUSTIFIED -FIN MINISTRY
RTRS-GREECE SAYS TIMING, SIZE OF DOWNGRADE ARE INCOMPREHENSIBLE, RAISES QUESTIONS
RTRS-GREECE SAYS MOODY’S DOWNGRADE SHOWS NEED FOR TIGHTER REGULATION OF RATING AGENCIES
Incidentally,
Moodys downgrades Greece to B1 from Ba1 [Updated]
Moody’s has downgraded Greece to B1 from Ba1 on Monday, a move which follows Greek five-year credit default swaps hitting 1049 basis points last Friday.
Here’s the statement:
London, 07 March 2011 — Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded Greece’s government bond ratings to B1 from Ba1,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- BHP Billiton to buy Chesapeake shale gas assets for $4.75bn – statement.
- Moody’s changes Japan’s Aa2 rating outlook to negative – statement.
- Zurich Financial buys $1.67bn stake in Santander’s Latin American unit- statement.
Moody’s puts Antipodean banks on review
Fresh from Moody’s — a threat of bank downgrades Down Under (sorry).
The start of the rating agency’s statement:
Sydney, February 16, 2011 — Moody’s Investors Service has placed on review for possible downgrade the Aa1 long-term,