Daily Archives: September 14, 2011

Gideon Rachman America and the Palestine vote

September 14, 2011 10:15 pm by Gideon Rachman

It is safe to say that the US government is dreading the prospect of a UN Security Council vote on Palestine’s bid for statehood later this month. At present the Americans reckon they could well lose such a vote 14-1, which would be a humiliation. It is possible that Britain, France and Germany (in particular) might abstain – but the Americans aren’t counting on it. Read more

Posted in Foreign affairs, Israel |

Q&A: Do eurozone ratings matter?

September 14, 2011 4:41 pm by FT

By David Oakley

A decision by ratings agency Moody’s over whether to downgrade Italy’s triple A sovereign rating is imminent. As the debacle this summer over S&P’s decision to downgrade the US illustrated, such a move could have major repercussions in the markets. So, just what is going on? How worried should we be? And might there be more downgrades to come in the eurozone?

What is Italy’s current investment rating?

Moody’s announced that it had put Italy on watch for downgrade in the middle of June. The agency gives itself a deadline of three months to make a decision, which should be in the next few days. Read more

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Posted in Europe, Financial crisis, Global economy, Greece, Italy |