Greece rated worst in the world

ATHENS/NEW YORK – Greece became the lowest-rated country in the world according to Standard & Poor’s, which downgraded it on Monday and warned that any attempt to restructure the country’s debt would be considered a default.

Greece now has a lower credit rating than countries such as Pakistan and Ecuador, which has been shut out of international markets since a 2009 default. The cost of insuring Greek debt is now almost twice as much as the price of insuring Pakistani bonds.S&P’s move was the latest blow for Greece’s Socialist government, which is scrambling to push an unpopular austerity package through parliament to ensure continued funding under a year-old bailout plan.Barely a year after Athens was granted a first 110 billion euro aid package, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank (ECB) are working on a second funding deal. Some European countries such as Germany oppose giving more money to Greece without the assistance of private creditors.S&P said European policymakers looked increasingly likely to impose a restructuring of Greece’s debt – either via a bond swap or by extending bond maturities – as a means of making the private holders of Greek bonds share the burden.- Nampa-Reuters