Politicians seize upon Moody’s downgrade

the logo of German Commerzbank is pictured in the bank's headquarters in Frankfurt, central Germany

PARIS (AP) — Politicians across Europe are seizing upon the latest slew of European credit downgrades as a call to tighten economic controls — in spite of a muted market reaction to the latest move by rating agency Moody’s.

Late Monday, Moody’s downgraded the ratings of Italy, Portugal and Spain, while France, Britain and Austria kept their top credit scores but had their outlooks dropped to “negative” from “stable.”

Britain’s government said Tuesday that the Moody’s move proved its austerity measures are necessary, countering opposition arguments that the cuts are already running too deep.

In France, which has already seen Standard & Poor’s stripping France of its top rating, the finance minister practically greeted the Moody’s warning as positive, noting that the country still retains its Aaa rating.