Fitch downgrades credit ratings for 5 EU nations

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LONDON — U.S. ratings agency Fitch says it is downgrading the credit ratings for five European nations including leading economic heavyweights Italy and Spain.

The agency on Friday lowered credit ratings for the five nations by one notch and placed a negative outlook on all of them, as well as on Ireland. Those nations downgraded included Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia and Spain.

Italy went down to A- credit rating while Spain was downgraded to A. Ireland’s BBB+ rating was affirmed but it also received a negative outlook.

Fitch Ratings blamed the revisions on “the marked deterioration in the economic outlook” in Europe and “the absence of a credible financial firewall against contagion and self-fulfilling liquidity crises.”