Eurozone sovereign debt ratings cut

Nine eurozone territories have seen their sovereign debt ratings cut, with France losing its AAA status after Standard & Poor's adjusted the country's rating to AA plus (with a negative outlook).

Austria also lost its AAA rating from S&P's, while Italy, Spain Portugal, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia also saw their ratings cut by the US-based ratings agency.

The downgrade was attributed to the failure of these countries to convince investors they will be capable of cutting deficits and shoring up the state of their economies.

The only good news for Europe was that Germany has maintained its AAA rating, something which Europe's policy makers hope will limit the extent of the damage to the eurozone.

S&P's said in a statement that the rating actions "are primarily driven by our assessment that the policy initiatives that have been taken by European policymakers in recent weeks may be insufficient to fully address ongoing systematic stresses in the eurozone."

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