Weekend Economists Split for Havana February 6-8, 2015

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26. S&P DOWNGRADES GREEK CREDIT RATING AMID CONCERNS OVER CASH

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GREECE_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-02-06-17-44-19

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- The pressure on Greece's new government to reach a deal with bailout creditors ratcheted up Friday as Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating on Greece further into junk status and warned of the country's possible exit from the 19-nation eurozone.

The ratings agency lowered Greece's long-term rating by one notch to "B-" and warned about its weak cash position. But the Greek government, barely two weeks in power, is insisting it will not give up on demands to overhaul the country's bailout agreements and bring an end to years of austerity.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met Friday with the government's top finance officials, who said the new Greek administration would not renege on its election pledge to renegotiate the bailout deal.

"It is clear that the government will remain committed to the clear mandate it has received from voters and will not accept an extension of the dead-end and catastrophic bailout," a senior Greek official said. The official asked not to be named as talks with European officials are ongoing.