Euro zone deal ‘beyond reach': Fitch

Fitch credit rating agency reaffirmed France’s top-notch triple-A rating.

ROME/BERLIN: The credit rating agency Fitch has told euro zone countries that it believes a comprehensive solution to their debt crisis is beyond reach, putting six euro zone economies including Italy on watch for potential downgrades in the near future.  It reaffirmed France’s top-notch triple-A rating but even here said the outlook was now negative, meaning it could be downgraded within two years. Underscoring the tensions within the bloc over a crisis that has spread relentlessly over the past two years, Italy’s prime minister urged European policymakers on Friday to beware of dividing the continent with efforts to fight its debt crisis. In a swipe at Germany, he warned against a “short-term hunger for rigour” in some countries. It put Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Italy, Ireland, and Cyprus on negative watch, which could mean a downgrade within three months.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2011.