NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 30, 2001--Standard&Poor's today lowered its long-term sovereign credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on the Republic of Argentina to double–'C' from triple-'C'-plus. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its single-'C' short-term sovereign credit rating on the republic. The outlook remains negative. The downgrade reflects the increased probability that Argentina will decide to comprehensively restructure its internal and external debt as signaled by government officials that have now made debt restructuring a priority solution to the fiscal and economic crisis. Implementation of the zero-deficit policy is almost impossible to sustain with declining revenue unless the corresponding primary surplus target is lowered through a reduction in interest payments. The zero-deficit policy has,
