Moody's strips France of AAA-rating with one-notch cut [View all]
Source: Reuters
(Reuters) - Moody's stripped France of its prized triple-A badge on Monday, cutting the sovereign credit rating on Europe's No. 2 economy by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa, citing an uncertain fiscal outlook and deteriorating economy.
The downgrade, which follows a cut by Standard & Poor's in January, was widely expected but is still a blow to Socialist President Francois Hollande as he strives to convince the world he can fix France's public finances and stalled economy.
Moody's said it was keeping a negative outlook on France due to structural challenges and a "sustained loss of competitiveness" in the country, where business leaders blame high labor charges for flagging exports.
"The first driver underlying Moody's one-notch downgrade of France's sovereign rating is the risk to economic growth, and therefore to the government's finances, posed by the country's persistent structural economic challenges," Moody's said.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/20/us-france-moodys-idUSBRE8AI17K20121120
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