Turkey angry at S&P for lowering rating outlook

Selcan Hacaoglu - Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's prime minister on Thursday accused ratings agency Standard & Poor's of bias for lowering the country's long-term credit outlook on the same day it upgraded Greece's credit grade.

S&P on Tuesday had dropped Turkey's outlook from positive to stable, which mean it is no longer considering an upgrade of its credit rating, and cited concerns over government debt. The same day it had upgraded the ratings of neighboring Greece after Athens completed a major debt writedown with private creditors.

The government of Turkey, a traditional rival to Greece, was less than pleased.

"'From now on, we do not recognize you as a ratings agency,'" said Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said S&P's ratings decisions this week were "ridiculous."

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May 03, 2012