Timing of Moody’s Downgrade Sweep of Euro Members Surprises

Late yesterday Moody’s Investor Service announced that they were cutting the debt ratings of several Eurozone countries, including most notably Italy, Portugal and Spain. Moody’s also said, citing the debt crisis, that it might also consider a downgrade to Austria, the U.K. and France. The Moody’s decision follows S&P’s downgrade earlier this year, so for the most part, traders were generally unsurprised by the announcement except for the timing, which analysts expect will have only little enduring impact on the Euro. Indeed, the EUR/USD is currently flirting with the opening price of 1.3168, and a bullish sentiment prevails on OpenBook. Read more