Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is warning Australia’s prized AAA credit rating could be reviewed unless substantial cuts are made to the budget in coming years. In an unusually forthright warning, a lead sovereign analyst for S&P, Craig Michaels, said he was counting on the Abbott government to win Senate approval for at least “some” of its $37 billion in planned savings against opposition from Labor, which has pledged to veto about $18 billion in cuts and tax rises. “We’re looking to see the government improve budget performance over the next few years,” Mr Michaels said in an interview. If it looked as though ... (full story)