Moody's strips U.K. of coveted AAA bond rating

ratings agency Moody's Investors Service (MCO) has stripped Britain's government of its prized AAA bond rating.

Moody's lowered the rating one notch to AA1, citing weaknesses in the British economy's medium-term outlook.
Moody's said "subdued" growth prospects and a "high and rising debt burden" were weighing on the British economy.

The agency said rising debt meant "a deterioration in the shock-absorption capacity of the government's balance sheet, which is unlikely to reverse before 2016."

It said, though, that "the U.K.'s creditworthiness remains extremely high," and its outlook was stable.

Moody's said that "a combination of political will and medium-term fundamental underlying economic strengths will, in time, allow the government to implement its fiscal con..

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