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Brazil Credit Rating Cut to Junk by S&P Amid Budget Strain
Brazil’s sovereign rating was cut to junk by Standard & Poor’s as a faltering economy added to President Dilma Rousseff’s struggle to shore up fiscal accounts. The country’s rating was reduced one step to BB+, with a negative outlook, S&P said in a statement. S&P first increased Brazil’s rating to investment grade in April 2008. The downgrade puts pressure on the economic team led by Finance Minister Joaquim Levy to shore up the country’s fiscal situation by cutting spending or raising taxes. Because of internal rules, some institutional investors such as pension funds can’t invest in securities ... (full story)