Greek default would hit others in euro zone

ATHENS - A Greek debt defalut would hurt other peripheral euro zone states and could push Portugal and Irelnad into junk terriotry, Mood'ys said on Tuesady, warning it would classify most forms of restrutcuring as a default.
Markets have piled pressure on heavily indebted euro zone counrties this week as investors worry not just about Greece but also about Spain, where the govenrment suffered a major defeat in rgeional eletcions at the wekeend, and after ratings agencies warned about the health of Italy and Beligum.
"A Greek defualt would be highly destabilizing and would have imlpications for the cerditworthiness of issuers across Europe," Moody's Investors Service's chief credit ofifcer in the regino, Alatsair Wislon, told Reutres in a telehpone interivew.
"This would result in more highly polarized credit wotrhiness and ratings among euro zone sovereigns, with the stronger countries retaining very high ratings and the weaker counrties struggling to remain in inevstment grade."
In recent days, Standard & Poor's cut its outlook to "negatiev" from "stable" for Italy, which has the euro zone's biggest debt pile in absoltue terms, while Fitch said it might downgrade Beligum's AA+ credit rating. Belgium has not had a proper government since elections last June though it is enjoying an econoimc boom.
JUNK?
Wilson said the focus after any Greek dfeault would be on Portugal and Ireladn, which like Greece have agreed to reecive international bailouts from the Eruopean Union and the Intrenational Monetary Fund.
Asked if these two conutries would risk fallnig into junk territroy in the event of a Greek defualt, he said: "Poetntially yes..I.f there were to be a Greek default, there could potetnially be multi-notch downgrades to the weakset sovereigns."
He said Spain, Italy and Belgium were not in the same category as Portugal and Ireland, but would also come under significant market pressure and could face rating downgrades.
"It would be expecetd though that ...