US, Germany, Britain and France still merit the top "Aaa" credit rating but must fight high debt levels to maintain this, Moody's Investor Service said on Thursday. Moody's, a leading credit rating agency, said that the four countries would be able to meet debt repayments, given the ratios between borrowing rates and government revenues.
Moody's said there was little change since its last report in August, emphasising that future costs from ageing populations needed to be brought under control to maintain long-term stability. "The US has recently rolled out a programme of additional stimulus while, in contrast, the UK's coalition government has introduced a strong programme of deficit reduction in order to address the steep increases in government debt as a result of the financial crisis," the report said.