A dirty game is being played here

S&P Roils Markets With Erroneous French Rating Downgrade

By Catarina Saraiva and John Detrixhe

Standard & Poor’s roiled global equity, bond, currency and commodity markets when it sent and then corrected an erroneous message to subscribers suggesting France’s top credit rating had been downgraded.
The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index extended its decline to 1.5 percent to 234.11 and French 10-year bond yields surged as much as 28 basis points to 3.48 percent, the highest level since July. The euro pared gains and U.S. equities briefly dropped after the mistaken announcement. Commodities erased gains before resuming increases after S&P affirmed France’s AAA rating in a later statement...
A downgrade of France’s credit rating would affect the rating of the European Financial Stability Facility ...
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Comment: This news feels like an instant confirmation of my suspicion that a dirty game is being played.