Moody’s Cuts Six Euro Countries

Citing the precarious state of the eurozone debt crisis, Moody’s Investors Service cut the debt ratings of six European countries on Monday.

Bloomberg reported that Italy was cut from A2 to A3, Spain went from A1 to A3 and Portugal dropped from Ba2 to Ba3. All received negative outlooks. Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia also saw their ratings fall. In addition, the agency warned that the U.K. and France could lose their top ratings. France, and Austria as well, were already dropped from their triple-A status by Standard & Poor’s in January.

Alistair Wilson, chief credit officer for Europe at Moody’s in London, was quoted saying, “Policy makers have made steps forward but we do not think they have done enough to reassure the market that we are on a stable path. What will guide long-term ratings is the clarity and the performance of policy makers and the macro picture.”