Moody's puts Italy under review

Moody’s is warning that it may reduce Italy’s credit rating over concerns about the country’s ability to spurt growth and reduce public debt, one of the highest in Europe.

It also cited fragile market sentiment for European countries with high levels of public debt, which pushes up borrowing costs.

The warning on Friday follows a similar move by Standard and Poor’s, which cut its rating outlook for Italy’s debt from stable to negative. Moody’s currently rates Italy an Aa2.

The head of the eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker, warned today that the Greek debt crisis could spread to at least five other European countries, including Italy, if it is not cautiously managed.