InfoAnda - Moody's downgrade 'completely unjustified': Athens

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Gorbachev lashes Kremlin for failure on democratic reform | 6 March 2010
NBC's '30 Rock' Gets 22 Emmy Nods | 17 July 2009
2 bomb blasts hit south Philippine city, killing 2 | 18 December 2008

NZ Debt Office cancels Dec. 18 bond tender | 9 December 2008

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Moody's downgrade 'completely unjustified': Athens

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition Top Stories Most Popular Photos Full Coverage Sitemap Moody's downgrade 'completely unjustified': Athens AFP - 29 minutes ago Send IM Story Print ATHENS (AFP) - – Bailed-out Greece reacted furiously to Moody's decision to slash its credit ratings on Monday, only days before a crucial summit of eurozone leaders to discuss plans for a permanent debt rescue system. "The rating downgrade announced by Moody's today is completely unjustified as it does not reflect an objective and balanced assessment of the conditions Greece is presently facing," the finance ministry said in a statement. The finance ministry also blasted the rating agencies as a whole. "Moody's downgrading of Greece's debt reveals more about the misaligned incentives and the lack of accountability of credit rating agencies than the genuine state or prospects of the Greek economy," it said. Earlier Monday, Moody's slashed Greece's credit rating by three notches from Ba1 to B1 and warned it could be downgraded further given the risks to the country's stabilisation efforts. Moody's said the downgrade reflected its concerns over Greek efforts to balance its strained public finances after Athens had to seek a bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund last year to avoid default. "The fiscal consolidation measures and structural reforms that are needed to stabilise the country's debt metrics remain very ambitious and are subject to significant implementation risks, despite the progress that has been made to date," Moody's, one of the top three ratings agencies, said in a statement. Moody's also said that although discussions are underway among eurozone policymakers "on the design of a longer-term support mechanism," they are "unlikely to have a very large impact on the overall debt burden" of Greece. The Greek finance ministry retorted that "Moody's focuses its analysis exclusively on the downside risks" and that although it mentioned, it did not include the significant progress Greece has made in fiscal consolidation and structural reforms programme. "Moodys refers to uncertain conditions in the eurozone after 2013 and their impact on Greeces debt, at a time when the European Union and the eurozone are still formulating their policies and there is an explicit commitment from member states to agree on a comprehensive solution to the crisis at the European Council in March," it said. The Greek government also questioned the timing of the downgrade by Moody's as it comes just days before a special summit of eurozone leaders on March 11 and a full meeting of EU chiefs on March 24-25 that will decide the size, shape and scope of a permanent rescue fund for the single currency area. Athens is seeking to strike a deal at the summit granting it a longer repayment period on the EU-IMF loan as well as a lower interest rate. "At a time when the global economy is fragile and market sentiment is sensitive, unbalanced and unjustified rating decisions such as Moodys (can) ... initiate damaging self-fulfilling prophecies and certainly strengthen the arguments for tighter regulation of the rating agencies themselves," the finance ministry warned. "We have our own evaluation," said Amelia Tores, a spokeswoman for the European Commission. "We do these evaluations according to a regular calendar, at set times, and it is this evaluation that has to be taken into account." Greece has suffered repeated downgrades in recent months from Moody's and fellow rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Fitch. Moody's last downgraded Greece in June 2010 and put it on negative watch in December of the same year. Greece was forced last year to turn to the IMF and the European Union for a 110-billion-euro (154-billion-dollar) bailout after investors demanded unsustainable rates of return to lend it fresh money. The country is currently implementing a tough austerity programme to reduce its public deficit and managed last year to slash its huge budget deficit by an unprecedented six percent of total output, but at the cost of widespread pay cuts and tax hikes that have caused waves of strikes and protests. The finance ministry said that "Moody's decision in no way affects the financing of the Hellenic Republic as it continues to draw funds from the Greek support mechanism." The country returns on Tuesday to the international markets with a batch of six-month treasury bills worth 1.25 billion euros. In its last six-month treasury bill sale in February, Greece raised 390 million euros at a yield of 4.64 percent. Recommend Send IM Story Print News Search Top Stories Moody's downgrade 'completely unjustified': Athens Libya: live report Oil price spikes to 2.5 year-high on Libya unrest French government comes under cyber attack Asia to be biggest aircraft market by 2029: Airbus More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed China richest man says work key to easing poverty Prince to have British trade role downgraded: report World's sixth mass extinction may be underway: study HSBC rebuffs talk of London exit Libya: live report More Most Viewed » More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! Financial news on Yahoo! Finance Stars and latest movies Best travel destinations More on Yahoo! News Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition Subscribe to our news feeds Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS » More news feeds | What are news feeds? Also on Yahoo! Answers Groups Mail Messenger Mobile Travel Finance Movies Sports Games » All Yahoo! Services Site Highlights Singapore Full Coverage Most Popular Entertainment Photos Yahoo! News Network Copyright © 2011 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community | Intellectual Property Rights Policy | Help

Other News on Monday, 7 March 2011
Libya: live report
Saudi Arabia detains 22 Shi'ites
French far right surges, as Sarkozy spurs Islam debate
WordPress back up after attacks 'from China'
Rio heads into Carnival climax
Karzai tells Petraeus Afghan apology 'not enough'
Nationalise Anglo American says S.Africa youth leader
Sudan central bank governor resigns ahead of secession
Clashes as rebels deny Libyan victory claims
Turkey jails two more journalists over coup plot
Afghan bomb kills 12 civilans
Ivorian rebels claim capture of another town |
South Sudan sets conditions for north debt help
Sudan central bank governor resigns ahead of secession |
Thousands protest against Lebanon's sectarian system |
Back on Cairo streets, thugs attack protesters |
Estonian centre-right coalition heads for poll win |
US man's Cuban subversion trial ends
Mom sheltering child dies as tornado hits La. town
Court defers ruling on Nobel laureate's dismissal
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
"Rango" tops another sluggish weekend for movies
Mideast tourism sector hit by uprisings
African 'Oscar' goes to incest movie from Morocco
Christina's "Ain't No Other Man" sued over ownership issue
Rango tops another sluggish weekend for movies |
White House considers tapping Stragic Petroleum Reserve
Def Leppard has eye on legacy with live album and tour |
Young mother dies protecting her child from tornado's winds
UN gains access as Libya rebels lose ground in clashes
French ex-president to go on trial for corruption
Saudi Arabia detains Shi'ites as clerics ban protests
US-TECH Summary
Israel plans work at contested Jerusalem holy site
India's top court allows 'passive euthanasia'
Not getting enough sleep? Turn off the technology
PM favours rate cut for quake-hit New Zealand
Gaddafi counter-offensives raise civil war fears |
British team leaves Libya after 'difficulties': minister
Knives and petrol bombs return to Cairo streets
Bangladesh resumes Microfinance laureate hearing
Couple overcomes groom's illness with Skype wedding
Prince to have British trade role downgraded: report
Pietersen adds to World Cup injury woes
Casualties take focus from Gates's Afghan trip |
Record numbers cast e-votes in Estonian election
Obama steers clear of 'doctrine' as Arab tumult rages
U.S. military's mini space shuttle lifts off
China richest man says work key to easing poverty
China says U.S. must stop Taiwan arms sales |
Silk protein boosts e-book efficiency: scientists
Sudan central bank governor resigns ahead of secession
Japan's PM hangs on but outlook grim |
As Google matures, startups keep it young
Bahrain prince warns against protest escalation |
Afghan president rejects US apology over killings
Thousands protest against Lebanon's sectarian system
North Korea proposes talks to resolve defection row |
Pressure builds on Hong Kong after anti-budget protests |
Pressure builds on Hong Kong after anti-budget protests
Landslide leaves thousands stranded at Indonesia mine |
Vietnam releases human rights lawyer from prison
Powerful earthquake strikes off Solomon Islands
Japan's PM hangs on but outlook grim
Charlie Sheen's Web show draws more than 100,000 viewers
Seoul shares fall on Samsung Elec, transporters
Bangladesh court hears Nobel laureate's case
"Transformers 2" director says film "was crap"
Not getting enough sleep? Turn off the technology |
Taiwan regulator to decide AIG's Taiwan unit sale in H1
Seoul shares open down; airlines fall, insurers up
NZ new home building consents recovers in Jan
Couple overcomes groom's illness with Skype wedding |
Family photos offer rare look at pre-war Liberia
In Mideast revolts, women emerge as driving force
S. Korean rights group raps forced slimming drive
World's most expensive painting on show in London
Sun is shining on Asian tourism trade
Landslide leaves thousands stranded at Indonesia mine
Director Michael Bay thinks "Transformers 2" was "crap"
Charlie Sheen's Web show draws more than 100,000 viewers
Rio's famed parades crown Carnival party
Sirius XM creates limited-run "Tiger Blood Radio" channel about Charlie Sheen
Kevin Smith: I "feel good" about semi-retirement
Scientist claims fossilized bacteria in meteorite is evidence Earth life's space origins
"Transformers 2" director says film "was crap"
Charlie Sheen's Web show draws more than 100,000 viewers |
Transformers 2 director says film was crap |
Kevin Smith: I feel good about semi-retirement |
Rango tops another sluggish weekend for movies |
Actor Tate Donovan now one of the Good People |
'Spectacular' cyber attack hits French government
World Cup for tweet generation
Libya: live report
French finance ministry under cyber attack
Yemen opposition vows escalation against president |
Moody's downgrade 'completely unjustified': Athens
Oil price spikes to 2.5 year-high on Libya unrest
Ivorian rebels take third town in west |
US defence chief sorry over Afghan child deaths
British prince pilloried over pedophile pal |
N. Korea tells S. Korea to produce defectors
Kuwaiti protests on Tuesday aim to remove PM |
Indonesian govt wipes its hands of Ahmadiyah 'problem'
Zimbabwe frees 38 held in anti-Mugabe protest plot |
Korean poker player wants to boost casino image
Moussa hits campaign trail in Egypt presidency race |
Taiwan nightclub fire kills nine
South Sudan militia clashes kill at least 56: army |
Philippines orders oil firms to boost inventories
China denies police behind foreign reporter beatings
North Korea proposes talks to resolve defection row
Pakistani stocks end lower; rupee firm against dollar
S.Korea considers lifting rare earths stocks -sources
S.Korea govt, c.bank in harmony on price stability
Web startups clamp down on trading of their shares |
Seoul shares fall 1.2 pct as Samsung Elec tumbles
Taiwan regulator to rule on AIG Taiwan unit sale in H1
Pakistan
Cell phone outage affects millions in Pakistan
Microfinance struggles to restore its reputation
Shanghai's House of Barbie closes
French government comes under cyber attack
Asia to be biggest aircraft market by 2029: Airbus
Japan's PM hangs on but outlook grim
Bangladesh court hears Nobel laureate's case
India ally to quit cabinet, coalition safe for now
Overseas women rate S'pore, Hong Kong among top places to live, work
ANALYSIS: Playing it safe with the budget
Woody Allen to shoot next film in Rome this summer
McQueen protege to design royal wedding dress: report
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01