On April 14, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services 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 now available, published on RatingsDirect, Standard&Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, on April 14, 2005. Austria's economy is characterized by high living standards, based on a high level of productivity and the innovative capacity of its corporate sector. Markets are flexible and react swiftly to economic shocks. As a result, unemployment is significantly lower than levels observed across most of Europe, and economic performance has been one of the least volatile among rated sovereigns.
