Standard & Poor's | featured news

Stocks advanced on Tuesday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its fourth straight gain on increased hopes for central bank stimulus measures ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

The ratings agency Standard & Poor's warned on Tuesday that it could downgrade California's financial outlook if lawmakers don't pass a credible budget plan this year.

Standard & Poor's has cut its credit rating on Finnish cellphone maker Nokia to junk on expectations of lower sales, following a similar move by Fitch Ratings earlier this week.

Federal prosecutors are stepping up their investigation of Standard & Poor's ratings of troubled mortgage securities during the financial crisis, according to former analysts questioned by prosecutors.

Standard & Poor's ratings agency has downgraded France's credit rating, French television channels reported on Friday, citing a government source.

Monday's euro-zone downgrade warning by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services is a muscular move by a firm that was pilloried for its supposed laxity in the financial crisis. S&P put the long-term sovereign-debt ratings of 15 euro-zone nations, including struggling Italy and Spain, on negative watch. That typically means there is at least a 50% chance of a downgrade within 90 days, but the firm said Monday that it expected to announce any rating changes "as soon as possible" following this week's European Union summit, where policy makers are expected to lay out plans to enforce stricter budget rules.

The worst week for the stock market in two months ended with a whimper in thin trading Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 4.8 percent this week, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 4.7 percent. Both had their worst weeks since Sept. 23.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff found "apparent failures" at each of the 10 credit rating agencies it examined, including Standard & Poor's and Moody's, the agency said on Friday in its first annual report of credit raters.

The Securities and Exchange Commission faces hurdles proving wrongdoing at credit-rating agencies, the SEC's enforcement chief said in an interview shortly after it was learned that his office may sue Standard & Poor's for breaking securities laws.

Italy's sovereign debt rating cut by Standard & Poor's, the latest move in a deepening and continuing European debt crisis.