France under fire: Moody's cuts AAA as Littlewood ups short

Moody's cut France's credit rating last night by one notch from AAA to Aa1. The ratings agency maintained the negative outlook it had placed on the country's rating in February. The agency said the country's ability to withstand future euro area shocks is diminishing as its own economic profile deteriorates. At the same time, its banks remain reliant on wholesale funding and exposed to other eurozone nations, while France's own credit exposure to the crisis has been increasing as a result of eurozone guarantees for peripheral nations, Moody's added. The decision leaves Fitch as the...