On Nov. 28, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the 'AAA' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term sovereign credit ratings on the Kingdom of Spain, as economic expansion accelerated further in 2005, supporting buoyant public finances. The outlook is stable. Following buoyant revenue growth at the central government level and increasing social security surpluses, the general government is expected to post modest surpluses in the medium term. Moreover, the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to continue on a downward trend. GDP growth has outperformed that of the Eurozone by more than one percentage point per year on average during the past decade. This situation may not continue, however, unless the government reinvigorates the reform process with regard to labor market rigidities and
