THE NEWS: Eurozone member Cyprus has formally requested a European Union bailout of its economy, citing exposure to Greece.
THE DOWNGRADE: The request came the same day U.S. ratings agency Fitch downgraded Cyprus to “junk” status, prompted by the amount of rescue money that would be needed to bail out its banks, and warned further downgrades were possible in coming months due to a possible worsening of the situation in Greece.
THE DETAILS: Cyprus wouldn’t say how much the island nation would ask from the European Union bailout fund, saying that the amount would be subject to negotiations in the coming days.
