BREAKING NEWS

S&P downgrades Spain by one notch on weak growth outlook

Ratings agency Standard and Poor's downgraded the long-term credit rating of Spain by one notch on Friday, knocking the euro down by a third of US cent as it followed hard on the heels of a similar downgrade by Fitch last week.
S&P cited Spain's high unemployment, tightening credit and high level of private-sector debt among the reasons for the downgrade of the nation's creditworthiness to AA- from AA.
S&P and Fitch now rate Spain as AA- and both also have signaled further possible downgrades.