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| [00:00.00] | Stock markets in Europe and the United States have fallen sharply |
| [00:04.11] | in response to further signs that the debt crisis in Greece is intensifying |
| [00:08.46] | and could spread to other countries. |
| [00:10.51] | Share prices in New York, London, Frankfurt and Paris |
| [00:13.81] | fell by more than 2% after a major international credit rating agency |
| [00:18.41] | Standard & Poor's downgraded Greek debt |
| [00:21.40] | to a level known informally as junk. |
| [00:23.33] | Nils Blythe has more. |
| [00:24.82] | Standard & Poor's downgraded its assessment |
| [00:27.56] | of Greek bonds to the so-called junk status |
| [00:30.04] | because of the growing danger |
| [00:31.97] | that the bond holders will not be paid back in full. |
| [00:34.59] | Many big investment funds have rules |
| [00:37.45] | that forbid them from holding junk bonds, |
| [00:39.13] | says the move is likely to trigger a further round of selling. |
| [00:42.17] | Share markets have taken fright, |
| [00:44.16] | fearing that if Greece does default on its debts, |
| [00:46.78] | it would hit many European banks which hold Greek bonds |
| [00:50.01] | and could trigger a wider financial crisis. |
| [00:52.75] | Already pressure is mounting on Portugal |
| [00:55.86] | which has also seen its credit rating downgraded today, |
| [00:58.84] | although it remains above junk status. |
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