Sovereign-bond issuers shrug off downgrades

ONCE upon a time, countries jealously guarded their credit ratings. Before the 2010 British election, George Osborne, soon to be the chancellor of the exchequer, emphasised the importance of cutting the budget deficit in order to maintain the country’s top AAA rating. But despite the spending cuts and the tax increases he imposed, Britain was […]

Sovereign-bond issuers shrug off downgrades

ONCE upon a time, countries jealously guarded their credit ratings. Before the 2010 British election, George Osborne, soon to be the chancellor of the exchequer, emphasised the importance of cutting the budget deficit in order to maintain the country’s top AAA rating. But despite the spending cuts and the tax increases he imposed, Britain was […]