LONDON (Standard&Poor's) April 14, 2005--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it affirmed its 'AAA' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Austria. The affirmation reflects robust growth prospects underpinned by ongoing reform efforts. The outlook is stable. The full analysis on Austria is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, Standard&Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, published on April 14, 2005. "Austria's economy is characterized by high living standards and flexible markets," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Kai Stukenbrock. "Unemployment is significantly lower than levels observed across most of Europe, and economic performance has been one of the least volatile among rated sovereigns." Since the turn of the current decade, Austria has embarked
