News
WSJ | S&P Downgrades Cyprus Further Into Junk Territory
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded Cyprus's sovereign ratings three notches further into junk territory, saying the island nation's creditworthiness had deteriorated significantly since its ratings were lowered in August.
Bloomberg | U.S. to Get Downgraded Amid Fiscal ‘Theater,’ Pimco Says
The sovereign credit rating of the U.S. will be cut as “fiscal theater” plays out in the world’s biggest economy, according to Pacific Investment Management Co., which runs the world’s largest bond fund.
WSJ | Europe Seeks a Spain Strategy
Euro-zone governments are counting on the European Central Bank to provide most of the firepower if Spain requests a bailout, with only a modest contribution coming from the bloc's bailout fund, senior officials said.
NY Times | Student-Loan Borrowers Average $26,500 in Debt
The average student-loan debt of borrowers in the college class of 2011 rose to about $26,500, a 5 percent increase from about $25,350 the previous year, according to a report by the Institute for College Access and Success’s Project on Student Debt.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Post | The fiscal future? Well, that can wait.
What we heard in the second presidential debate was President Obama and Mitt Romney not discussing the nation’s future. Almost every expert agrees that controlling health costs is the crux of curing chronic budget deficits.
The American | Don Quixote Is Alive and Well and Living in Spain
Spain is the euro area’s fourth-largest economy. Bad government policy threatens the whole euro project and the global economy.
Blogs
WSJ | Moody’s Zandi Warns of Need to Deal With Fiscal Woes
Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody’s Corp.’s research arm, believes the U.S.’s fiscal woes will take a turn for the better — but not just yet.
