On Jan. 26, 2006, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on the Republic of Hungary to negative from stable, on mounting fiscal challenges. At the same time, the 'A-' long-term and 'A-2' short-term sovereign credit ratings on Hungary were affirmed. A commentary article "Credibility Test For Post-Election Fiscal Policy In Hungary", will be published later today on RatingsDirect, Standard&Poor's Web-based credit analysis system. The outlook revision reflects the increasing downside risks to Hungary's public finances, as evidenced by high general government deficits and quickly rising government debt figures. Fiscal deficits also contribute to consistently high current account deficits, and together these pose a risk to macroeconomic stability. Hungary's December 2005 convergence program foresees a swift reduction
