BUENOS AIRES (Standard&Poor's) Aug. 11, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it lowered its foreign and local currency long-term credit ratings on the Republic of Argentina to 'B' from 'B+'. Standard&Poor's also said that it affirmed its 'B' short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Argentina. In addition, Standard&Poor's lowered its national scale rating on Argentina to 'raAA-' from 'raAA'. The outlook is stable. Standard&Poor's also lowered its transfer and convertibility assessment on Argentina to 'BB-' from 'BB', and the '4' recovery rating on the republic's bond issues is unchanged. "The downgrade reflects Argentina's increasing economic challenges," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Sebastian Briozzo. "In particular, inflation
