S&P puts Cyprus on notice for new downgrade

STANDARD & Poor’s yesterday said it may cut the sovereign credit rating for Cyprus, citing its belief the government’s fiscal position is no longer sustainable.

“Due to the departure of the junior coalition party, DIKO, the Cypriot government is, in our opinion, in a weaker position to pass emergency budgetary measures through parliament,” S&P said in a statement.

S&P placed Cyprus on what it calls CreditWatch with a negative implications.

Cyprus is rated BBB-plus by S&P, three notches above junk status. . Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Cyprus on July 27 to Baa1, bringing it equal to S&P’s current rating. Fitch Ratings cut Cyprus to BBB on August 10, one notch below its rivals.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.