S&P keeps ratings downgrade threat hanging over UK

The UK is still in danger of losing its prized AAA rating despite the fiscal tightening measures unveiled by the new coalition Government last month, Standard & Poor's says.

The announcement is a blow to Chancellor George Osborne, who has taken a tough stance in tackling Britain's record budget deficit in a bid to keep the top credit rating, Reuters reports. S&P announced it is keeping the negative outlook on Britain's AAA credit rating since the challenging spending cuts had yet to be made and the economy may not grow as fast as the Government anticipates. "Standard & Poor's medium-term economic forecasts for the UK are less optimistic than the assumptions underlying the budget," the credit rating agency says. "We therefore believe there is still a ma...