S&P cuts Russia's credit rating to junk

Russia's credit rating has been cut to junk status by ratings agency Standard & Poor's for the first time in a decade.

The cut to BB+ follows an extended difficult economic period for the region exacerbated by the tumbling oil price, which has halved in value since last summer. The country has also been struggling with sanctions against some of its largest companies, and has been spiralling into recession since last year.   The move to rate Russian government bonds to below investment grade will make it harder for Russia to borrow money for investors. A statement from S&P said: "Russia's monetary-policy flexibility has become more limited and its economic growth prospects have weakened. "[We] se...