S&P to closely monitor Australia’s fiscal health

A day after revising Australia’s ratings outlook to negative from stable, ratings agency S&P said it will be closely monitoring government’s mid-year fiscal update and next year’s budget.

Australia faces the prospect of losing its vaunted AAA rating, after S&P Global Ratings lowered its outlook on the country's debt to negative. The ratings agency cited government's budget deficits and the likelihood of a political stalemate as the reasons for downward revision of the outlook.