downgrades

Here is a recap of the top news items from this week on Wall Street: 1. S&P informed the Finance Ministers of a number of EU nations about incoming credit rating downgrades.

While word of the reports was first heard early in Friday's afternoon session, the ratings were not released at 3pm ET as previously expected.

France's rating was lowered by one notch, while Italy and Spain's ratings were taken down by two notches. Notably, Germany's rating was affirmed. 2.

Shares of JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) traded about 3 percent lower Friday following fourth-quarter results earlier.

Standard & Poor’s Corp. on Friday stripped France of its sterling credit rating as several other euro zone countries, including Italy, were expected to be downgraded more severely.

Fifteen euro zone nations had their credit ratings placed on a watch list with “negative implications” on Monday.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has lowered its credit ratings for many of the world's largest financial institutions, including the biggest banks in the U.S.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded Japan's credit rating, citing the country's weak growth prospects, massive government debt and constant political turmoil.

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday downgraded its rating on Japan's debt.

Agency skewers debt ceiling 'debacle,' warns that more downgrades may come

Standard & Poor’s removed the United States government from its list of risk-free borrowers on Friday night, dropping the rating to AA+ on concerns about rising federal debt.

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's on Friday downgraded the United States' credit rating first time in the history of the ratings.

Moody's downgraded the debt of 30 Spanish banks Thursday but left untouched the ratings of the country's three largest banks, highlighting the weaknesses in Spain's financial system a day after the government in neighboring Portugal fell.