Het kleine ratingbureau Egan Jones heeft haar rating voor Duitsland woensdag verlaagd naar AA-. “Germany has been shouldering the burdens of other EU countries via its exposure to the EFSF and indirectly via the ECB`s hefty exposure to the weaker banks and the weaker sovereign credits”, aldus het persbericht. Egan Jones wordt in 96% van de ratings later gevolgd door S&P en Moody’s.
Meer uit het persbericht van E-J, zoals gepubliceerd door Zerohedge:
The country`s debt to GDP of 83% as of 2010 (expect near 86% for 2011) and a deficit to GDP of 4.6% is weak (and getting weaker) for a top-tier country. On the positive side, unemployment was only 6.8% but will probably increase as many EU countries implement austerity measures. Other positives were the positive (EUR133B) balance of trade and the positive (EUR193B) current account as of the end of 2010. Inflation has been fairly moderate at 2%, but we expect an increase as a result of the decline in the euro relative to the dollar.
German chancellor Angela Merkel continues to create tension with EU member states by pushing for ratification of changes to the Lisbon Treaty. The government insists that private investors bear more of the costs of further European bailouts. Note, the cost of the bailouts is likely to be absorbed via increased support for the EFSF, the ESM, the ECB and a rise in the number of euros. The fallout from a likely Greek default needs to be monitored.
Gelukkig gaat het niet over Nederland, oh, wacht ...