...Fitch has taken a number of negative rating actions on eurozone sovereigns over the past six months. The crisis in Greece has led to further downgrades in its ratings to `CC'. Deteriorating fiscal metrics were the key driver of negative rating actions on France (downgrade to `AA'/Stable from `AA+'/Rating Watch Negative), Austria (downgrade to `AA+' from `AAA') and Belgium (revision of the Outlook on the `AA' rating to Negative from Stable). We currently have two countries on Positive Outlook (Cyprus and Portugal) and two on Negative Outlook (Belgium and Finland), signalling a balanced outlook. Although the short-term macroeconomic outlook for Europe has improved, public deficit and debt ratios remain high by historical standards and medium-term growth prospects are generally weak....
