S&P cuts Spain's credit rating

Standard & Poor's has delivered another blow to sentiment across Europe after cutting Spain's long-term credit rating by one notch, from AA to AA-.

The ratings agency cited weak growth and high levels of private-sector debt as the reason for the downgrade, adding the country's high unemployment would remain a drag on the economy. It also warned the country's banking sector would likely weaken further as the crisis across Europe played out. Peer Fitch also cut Spain's rating last week and the moves are expected to ramp up yields on Spanish debt at a time when many other eurozone counterparts have already seen a spike in coupons. The yield on 10-year Spanish government debt has risen by 122 basis points since 2009, hitting a ...