Being added to the junk status list makes the financial hole even deeper, especially for emerging market countries. Sounds like there are even more to come so if nothing else, there may be benefit to a longer list. Also, it's not as though there are many premier ratings out there, or at least there shouldn't be in this environment.
Latvia on Tuesday became the second European Union nation after Romania to receive a junk level credit rating after Standard & Poor's reduced its rating on the crisis-hit nation.
S&P cut its rating to BB+/B, which is below investment grade, from BBB-/A-3. The outlook was negative.
S&P also put neighbors Estonia and Lithuania on credit watch, with negative implications.
The reduction on Latvia followed the fall of the government last week, which some economists have said raises risks for a program agreed with the IMF for a 7.5 billion euro rescue.
"The downgrade of Latvia reflects what we consider is a worsening external outlook and the associated implementation risks on the government's ambitious economic program," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Eileen Zhang.
