Same old Fitch

Sarkozy may have been downgraded from triple A on Friday, but one ratings agency, Fitch, was notable by it's absence. Both the wonderfully Dickensian sounding Standard & Poors, and Moody's confirmed France's reduction to AA+ principally, I would venture, because it's banks have lent around €480 billion to southern Europe. The equivalent sum from UK banks being around €80 billion.

These of course are the same ratings agencies which spectacularly failed to signal the worst banking crisis in recent history.

And the reason why Fitch failed to follow suit? No doubt some astute financial analysis the others had missed. Indeed, so enamoured was the company by France, it went on to confirmed that it wouldn't change Sarkozy's triple-A rating, come rain or shine. The reason? It's main shareholder is French.