Moody's Investors Service on Monday slashed Greece's credit rating three notches, from Ba1 to B1, and added that further cuts might be in the works if it cannot reduce its debt. The move comes as Germany, the Netherlands and Finland stand opposed to any approval of debt buy-backs or bond purchases.
Reuters reported that the cost of insuring Greek, Portuguese and Spanish debt rose in response to the move, as Moody's characterized Greek debt as "highly speculative" and ranked it lower than Egypt.
Athens was not pleased, and the Greek finance ministry responded with the statement, "The rating downgrade announced by Moody's today is completely unjustified." The ministry further cited improved collection of revenues and progress on its fiscal consolidation as evidence that the country's financial situation was improving.
