Revised: Moody’s downgrades UK’s rating

LONDON: Ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Britain’s credit rating on Friday, saying the government’s plans to bring down its heavy debt load had been knocked off course and Brexit would weigh on the economy. A few hours after Prime Minister Theresa May set out plans for new ties with the European Union, Moody’s cut the rating by a further notch to Aa2, underscoring the economic risks that leaving the bloc poses for the world’s fifth-biggest economy.



Britain has worked down its budget deficit from about 10% of economic output in 2010, shortly after the global financial crisis hammered the country, to 2.3%. But Moody’s - which stripped Britain of its top-notch AAA rating in 2013 - said the outlook for public finances had weakened significantly as May’s government softened the austerity drive of former prime minister David Cameron and his finance minister George Osborne.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2017.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.