S&P downgrades Puerto Rico debt to junk status

Published February 4, 2014 11:41pm ET



SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Credit-rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Puerto Rico’s debt to junk status Tuesday, a decision that frustrated island officials who said they had taken at times painful steps to reduce government spending and boost revenue amid an eight-year recession.

Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said it was not a surprise that S&P cut the rating one notch to “BB+,” one level below investment grade, but he called the move unfair and unnecessary.

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