S&P warns on Brexit

LONDON: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s warned on Friday that the risk of Britain leaving the European Union could affect its triple-A ranking. S&P, the only major ratings agency to rate Britain as AAA, maintained the ranking with a negative outlook due to uncertainties over a coming referendum on Britain’s EU membership. It came shortly after the International Monetary Fund warned that uncertainty over a so-called ‘Brexit’ could hurt its economy. British Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to hold a referendum before the end of 2017, while renegotiating the terms of Britain’s membership in the meantime. Most opinion polls show greater support for remaining within the 28-member bloc among the British public, though the pro-EU lead has been narrowing.