Greek government bonds downgraded to junk status
Just when investors thought the Greek situation was under control it has been revealed that Moody's has downgraded Greek government bond ratings to junk bond status. The company believes that not only will the Greek authorities suffer from problems with their own economy but problems within Europe will impact upon the short term bailout package and could see the country asking for more assistance from the EU.
While many people would have expected today's announcement it is certainly not good news for the European debt market which is already under significant pressure. Quite how the European Union will be able to stop this continued bloodshed from the market remains to be seen because no matter how much money the EU throws at the situation, all participants seem to come back asking for more.
This came on the day when initially European stocks were marked higher with oils benefiting from a stronger crude price. However, the situation turnaround in the afternoon with the official announcement from Moody's taken by some as yet another reason to bank any profits available. It will be interesting to see how European markets open tomorrow with concerns that other EU members are on the verge of asking for financial assistance.
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