LONDON (Standard&Poor's) Dec. 13, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it raised its long-term sovereign credit ratings on the Kingdom of Spain to 'AAA' from 'AA+', reflecting the sovereign's solid fiscal position and the improved resilience of the Spanish economy. The outlook is stable. "Spain has seen a remarkable fiscal consolidation in the past few years," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Beatriz Merino. "Tight expenditure control, coupled with declining interest payments and strong revenues, have led the general government balance to achieve a surplus of 0.3% of GDP in 2003, compared with a 1.2% deficit in 1999." The 2004 general government balance is estimated at a deficit of 0.7% of GDP, but this is largely due
