Gloomy S&P pikes downgrade

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From S&P:

S&P Global Ratings said today that the Australian government’s mid-year budget update has no immediate effect on the credit rating or outlook on the Commonwealth of Australia (unsolicited ratings AAA/Negative/A-1+). The government’s worsening forecast fiscal position, as outlined in its latest budget projections earlier today, further pressures the rating. We remain pessimistic about the government’s ability to close existing budget deficits and return a balanced budget by the year ending June 30, 2021. Over the coming months, we will continue to monitor the government’s willingness and ability to enact new budget savings or revenue measures to reduce fiscal deficits materially over the next few years.

That’s just downright weird. If you think that then downgrade. A rating is only an opinion.

About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.