Moody’s Rating Irish at Junk Threatens Kenny’s Goal: Euro Credit
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Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has said he wants to wave goodbye next year to the international creditors who bailed out his country. That ambition rests in part with a credit analyst poring over figures 675 miles away.
Dietmar Hornung at Moody’s Investors Service in Frankfurt said in an interview last week that Ireland’s rating is “rightfully positioned” at junk, signalling no immediate plan to restore the investment grade following the nation’s return last month to the long-term bond markets. Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings rank Ireland three levels higher than Moody’s.