Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Down and Dragging

Moody's have slashed the credit rating of Italy downwards from Aa2 to A2.
Italian borrowing needs are low and the debt is internal. This means that the downgrading should not have much snow balling effect but it still has dragged the Euro down.
This slashing down of credit rating was expected. Though the Economic Times takes it as shrugging off by Silvio Berlusconi but the reality is perhaps slightly different. As BBC reports :
"The Italian government is working with the maximum commitment to achieve its budget objectives," said Mr Berlusconi.
This is a normal statement coming from a beleaguered Prime Minister but a strange one from a business man. A businessman is out there to make money-responsibility extends only to that particular end. It is a peculiar kind of requirement to expect a business man to take care of the people's collective problems.