Fitch warns of mass eurozone downgrades as frontrunner to lead Greece rails at 'barbaric' austerity

With Japan's public debt about to hit 240% of GDP, Fitch Downgrades Japan's Sovereign Rating The ratings agency Fitch on Tuesday lowered its assessment of Japan’s sovereign credit to A+, an investment grade just above the likes of Spain and Italy, and criticized Tokyo for not doing more to pare down its burgeoning debt.

As most of you already know, Greece is in big, big trouble.  Its deficits are enormous, its debts are larger, and its credit quality is so shaky that it may set a world record on the Richter Scale. For a while now, the consensus has been that larger, more solvent members of the eurozone would bail the country out. Greece's creditors are saying, in effect, "Nice eurozone you've got there . . . shame if anything happened to it."

LONDON/NEW YORK — Britain looked poised to lose its AAA rating from a second ratings agency after Fitch Ratings warned on Friday it was likely to downgrade the country in the coming weeks, citing high government debt levels and weak growth. A month since Britain was downgraded by Moody’s, Fitch put the country on review and said a downgrade was a heightened possibility. A decision is due by the end of April, Fitch said in a statement. Sterling fell sharply, dropping half a cent against the dollar.

LONDON — The United States could lose its top credit rating for the second time from a leading agency if there’s a delay in raising the country’s debt ceiling, Fitch Ratings warned Tuesday. Congress has to increase the country’s debt limit, which effectively rules how much debt the U.S. can have, by March 1 or face a potential default. There are fears that the debate will descend into the sort of squabbling and political brinkmanship that marked the last effort to raise the ceiling in the summer of 2011. The U.S.

LONDON — The United States could lose its top credit rating for the second time from a leading agency if there’s a delay in raising the country’s debt ceiling, Fitch Ratings warned Tuesday. Congress has to increase the country’s debt limit, which effectively rules how much debt the U.S. can have, by March 1 or face a potential default. There are fears that the debate will descend into the sort of squabbling and political brinkmanship that marked the last effort to raise the ceiling in the summer of 2011. The U.S.