Free Republic

Eurozone governments are bracing for new debt-crisis turbulence after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s told them it would downgrade two of the eurozone’s six triple A nations. One official told the Financial Times that France and Austria are set to be downgraded but this has yet to be confirmed by either the agencies or the governments. The official said the ratings agency planned to lower the two nation’s ratings to AA+, leaving Germany as the only large triple-A country underwriting the triple A-rated eurozone rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility.

Standard & Poor's ratings agency has downgraded France's credit rating, French television channels reported on Friday, citing a government source. EU building flags brussels EyesWideOpen | Getty Images The channels did not provide further details. S&P warned in December that it could downgrade the credit ratings of several euro zone nations if European leaders failed to find a lasting solution to the debt crisis at a meeting of EU leaders that month. Several euro zone countries including France face an “imminent” downgrade by ratings agency S&P, Reuters and Dow Jones news agencies reported, sending the euro to a session low...