Mr. Alexander also recalled that a few years ago, after S.& P. downgraded Italy, the finance minister at the time sent the sovereign team an e-mail thanking them, saying he had been warning his government for years that it could happen.
The current situation, he said, is creating headaches for governments — worried either about where to invest or whether they themselves will be downgraded and face higher financing costs — as well as for investors.
It was well known that the White House had been trying to lure Goldman's boss to be treasury secretary, but he was said to have refused several times, not least because the Bush team appeared to have downgraded the role of finance minister to a marketing job.This week's change of heart had the commentariat buzzing.
They are trying to cut that debt pile by every possible means, for the threat that falling share prices, rising financing costs and downgraded credit might push some to the brink is all too real.For traders in credit exposure, on the other hand those who deal in telecoms bonds, loans and credit derivatives these are glory days.
The German finance ministry also downgraded its growth forecast for 2013 to 0.4%, but this has merely brought it into line with the Bundesbank projection of last month.
As weaker firms have their credit ratings downgraded and lose access to finance, the prospects for those businesses' lenders, as well as their shareholders, is the subject of much gossip in Houston.Oilmen are used to such ups and downs.
[C2.] Conseco's Prospects Dealt a Blow The key insurance rating of Conseco, the insurance and finance company, was downgraded by A. M. Best, a decision that will make it harder for Conseco to compete and worsens the prospects for a turnaround.
In the finance sector, Rochdale Securities downgraded Goldman Sachs to "hold" from "buy," and A.G. Edwards cut Citigroup to "hold" from "buy".
That's not going to solve the derivatives problem swamping the industry, but it would protect the $2.6 trillion municipal bond market from the threat of a cascade of ratings downgrades, higher costs to finance deals and massive losses for investors.
Late Friday, Moody's downgraded ratings of Ford and its finance arm Ford Motor Credit due to concerns over how fast the company burning through its cash.
