Markets slide on downgrade reports

Mounting speculation that a leading credit agency is to imminently downgrade the ratings of a number of eurozone countries drove global markets sharply lower today and sent the euro spinning down to a 17-month low.

The euro nose-dived on speculation that Standard & Poor’s was finally going to deliver the downgrades it had threatened for much of the 17-nation eurozone just over a month ago over concerns of Europe’s ability to get a grip on its debt crisis.