Moody's

There’s a new kid on the block -- but will this agency be able to give the big boys a run for their money?

French bonds fell today in the wake of Moody's downgrading the nation's credit rating. So is the second largest economy in Europe shrugging its collective shoulders? Non!

Europe's second largest economy, France, has just had its AAA credit rating downgraded by the rating agency Moody's.

Moody's Investors Service has lowered the outlook for the credit ratings of three of Europe's strongest economies: Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany. It's part of a busy day in Europe that has investors on-edge -- markets there are barely moving.

In Europe today, the focus has shifted from Spain to Italy, in the ongoing EU debt crisis. Moody's credit rating agency has downgraded Italian debt to just two levels above junk status.

Global markets are down about a percent this morning after the rating agency Moody's downgraded the credit ratings of 15 of the largest banks in the world. Among them, European institutions -- but also big American banks like JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America.

After U.S. markets closed yesterday, the rating agency Moody's delivered more bad news -- this time to 15 of the world's largest banks, including the biggest American banks. The fine print of the downgrade hints at more bank bailouts down the road.