Fitch downgrades Italy
2-notch drop to A-, yield and spread dip
30 January, 11:01
(ANSA) - Rome, January 27 - The US ratings agency Fitch downgraded Italy from A+ to A- status on Friday.
The two-notch downgrade came after Italian financial police on Tuesday searched the Fitch offices in Milan and two weeks after ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Italy along with eight other countries including France and Spain.
S&P was part of the same probe launched by a prosecutor based at Trani in southern Italy, Michele Ruggiero. The investigation is examining the possibility that "false, unfounded or imprudent judgements" unduly affected markets.
The Milan bourse on Friday closed down 1.02% at 15.946 points. The spread between 10-year Italian and German bonds, a measure of Italy's credibility on the sovereign-debt market, fell to 404 points after briefly dipping below 400. The yield, an equally important measure, dropped to 5.9%.
