9 EU nations downgraded by S&P

Berlin/Athens: Ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Friday downgraded the credit ratings of nine Eurozone countries. While France and Austria have lost their coveted triple-A status, Germany has emerged unscathed, retaining its triple-A rating and a stable outlook. 

    While S&P cut the ratings of Italy, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus by two notches, 
the standings of France, Austria, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia have gone down a notch each. The decision puts the highly indebted Italy on the same BBB+ level as Kazakhstan and pushes Portugal into junk status. 
The move resulted in the euro falling by more than a cent to $1.2650.