BBC新闻100篇 News Item 5

Stock markets in Europe and the United States have fallen sharply

in response to further signs that the debt crisis in Greece is intensifying

and could spread to other countries.

Share prices in New York, London, Frankfurt and Paris

fell by more than 2% after a major international credit rating agency

Standard & Poor's downgraded Greek debt

to a level known informally as junk.

Nils Blythe has more.

Standard & Poor's downgraded its assessment

of Greek bonds to the so-called junk status

because of the growing danger

that the bond holders will not be paid back in full.

Many big investment funds have rules

that forbid them from holding junk bonds,

says the move is likely to trigger a further round of selling.

Share markets have taken fright,

fearing that if Greece does default on its debts,

it would hit many European banks which hold Greek bonds

and could trigger a wider financial crisis.

Already pressure is mounting on Portugal

which has also seen its credit rating downgraded today,

although it remains above junk status.