Moody's cuts 6 European countries

bloomberg video: Moody's cuts 6 European countries

CNN link

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Moody's cut the credit ratings of six European countries on Monday amid continued anxiety over the continent's debt crisis and its sluggish economy.

Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain were all downgraded, while three other countries -- Austria, France and the United Kingdom -- had the outlook on their current Aaa ratings changed to "negative."
Ratings for Italy and Spain now sit at A2 and A1, respectively, while Portugal is rated Ba2, all with negative outlooks.

Moody's said in a statement that the main drivers of the ratings changes included "the euro area's prospects for institutional reform of its fiscal and economic framework" and "the resources that will be made available to deal with the crisis." The agency also cited fragile market confidence and Europe's "increasingly weak macroeconomic prospects."