Moody's upgraded Bulgaria's government ratings to Baa2/stable from Baa3

Moody’s Investors Services upgraded Bulgaria’s government debt rating to Baa2 from Baa3. The upgrade was motivated by three major factors:

"Effective fiscal consolidation supplemented by recent structural reforms, which are expected to maintain Bulgaria's very low debt burden by leading to a further reduction in the general government deficit to below the 3% Maastricht limit in 2011 and roughly balanced budgets in the years to come;

Strengthened institutional capacity thanks to determined efforts to increase the absorption of EU funds and to reform systems such as the judiciary and the police in order to improve the rule of law; and

Strong liquidity and capital buffers of both the financial system and the government, which in Moody's opinion are sufficient to absorb shocks deriving from regional volatility."