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The Ministry of Finance and Planning has just been informed by the rating agency, Moody's, that following the decision some months ago to assign a negative outlook to Jamaican Bonds, they have now determined that the existing ratings would be downgraded. The new ratings are as follows:
Finance Minister Omar Davies said that whilst the decision by Moody's was disappointing, it was not surprising given the earlier negative outlook. He also pointed to the fact that the justification provided by the rating agency for its decision spoke to a "series of adverse domestic and external shocks that would have been difficult for any economy to withstand without significant harm". Minister Davies further stated that the action by Moody's has strengthened the Government's resolve to attain the macro economic targets - in particular, that of reducing the fiscal deficit to between 5 and 6 percent of GDP for fiscal year 2003/2004.
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