Australia Must Mend Budget as Expected to Keep Rating, S&P Says

Australia’s credit rating could be cut if political wrangling or an external shock such as a further decline in commodity prices mean the budget fails to improve as expected, Standard & Poor’s said Friday.

While the credit assessor affirmed the country’s AAA rating with a stable outlook, it said that view is premised on the country maintaining “conservative budgetary policies” that will narrow the fiscal deficit.