France and Britain are most vulnerable within Europe to a rating review following the U.S. downgrade, with anaemic growth and hefty borrowing placing them among the shakiest of the world's triple-A rated lenders.
Both countries have stable rating outlooks, making a sudden downgrade unlikely and markets have been so impressed by Britain's debt-cutting strategy that they have pushed its bond yields to record lows. But a surge in the cost of insuring French debt against default on Monday highlighted alarm sparked by Friday's U.S. rating cut as banks and brokerages warned that rating agencies could now have top-rated European lenders in their sights. http://www.cnbc.com/id/44061061 '+'
