Wednesday, October 12

Italy criticizes S&P downgrade as political

ROME — Italy's government has criticized Standard & Poor's for downgrading Italy's credit rating, saying the decision is out of touch with reality and pledging that the country's austerity measures will soon show fruit.

S&P cut Italy's long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings to "A/A-1" from "A+/A-1+" Monday, saying it sees weakening economic growth prospects and higher-than-expected levels of government debt. The rating is still five steps above junk status,

In a statement Tuesday, Premier Silvio Berlusconi's government said it had a solid majority in parliament, which recently passed measures to balance the budget by 2013 and shave its debt through tax hikes and budget cuts.

It said the downgrade seemed "contaminated" by political considerations.

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