S&P strips EU of AAA rating.

S&P has lowered the EU's long-term credit rating to AA+ from AAA, due to the "overall weaker creditworthiness of the EU's 28 member states" and concerns about budget talks. The downgrade doesn't affect the ratings of individual countries, the agency said, although it does follow cuts for Italy, Spain, Holland and France in recent years. The euro was flat at $1.3657 at the time of writing.