Moody's strips Brazil of investment grade status
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The credit ratings agency Moody's has stripped Brazil of its investment grade status.
The agency is lowering Brazil's ratings by two notches, from Baa3 to Baa2 with a negative outlook. Moody's is the last of the three major credit ratings agencies to cut Brazil to junk status. Fitch Ratings lowered its rating for Brazil in December, mirroring a similar move by Standard & Poor's in September.
In a note accompanying its decision on Wednesday, Moody's says the downgrade is driven by worries over an increase in government debt "in a low-growth environment" and the country's "challenging political dynamics".
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brazil is in the midst of its worst recession since the 1930s. Last week, the central bank published figures showing that the country's economy shrank more than 4 percent in 2015.