Déja Vu US->EU… Thank you again Greedy *Goldman Sachs: now the Greek (and Portuguese) people will suffer while all euro-zone countries are warned to cut their soaring budget deficits. Risks still embedded in the European economy even though most countries have emerged from the recession. ~ sb

Excerpts from the article I read in the New York Times today:

“It is crucial that the momentum for regulatory reform does not wane.” – Lucas D. Papademos, European Central Bank Vice President.

Europe’s debt crisis deepened still further Tuesday after the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Greek and Portuguese debt, investors sold off government bonds amid fears of a default, and workers in those Mediterranean nations took to the streets to protest austerity measures. “It cannot only be the workers who pay,” said Manuel Leal, spokesman for the Fedtrans transport union in Portugal, according to Reuters.

S.&P. downgraded Greek government debt to junk status, saying in a statement, “Greece’s economic and fiscal prospects lead us to conclude that the sovereign’s creditworthiness is no longer compatible with an investment-grade rating.”

The ratings agency also downgraded Portuguese government bonds, but they remain well above junk status.

Please read more http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/business/global/28rating.html?emc=na and let me know what you think. ~sb

~!~

*”Goldman Sachs helped the Greek government to mask the true extent of its deficit with the help of a derivatives deal that legally circumvented the EU Maastricht deficit rules. At some point the so-called cross currency swaps will mature, and swell the country’s already bloated deficit.” ~ Huffington Post – 2010/02/10