Posted by
Defend America on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 3:55:10 PM
Credit Downgrades Spook Stocks
Stocks suffered a broad decline Tuesday, tumbling into the red for
December as investors worried about several countries' creditworthiness.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently down 113 points, or
1.1%, at 10277.27, trading about 68 points below last month's close of
10344.84.
Investors were spooked after Moody's Investors Service cut its
ratings on a raft of Dubai government-controlled companies and Fitch
Ratings downgraded its credit rating on Greece to triple-B-minus from
single-A-minus, highlighting "concerns over the medium-term outlook for
public finances given the weak credibility of fiscal institutions and
the policy framework in Greece."
Moody's also said the U.S. and U.K. may test the boundaries of their
triple-A sovereign ratings due to deteriorating public finances,
although Moody's said it doesn't see an immediate threat to the ratings
of any of the 17 nations for which it has a triple-A rating.
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703558004574583503247415592-lMyQjAxMDA5MDAwODEwNDgyWj.html