Standard & Poor's upgraded its outlook on Ireland's credit rating on Friday, saying its debt may fall faster than expected, nurturing European Union hopes for at least one bailout success story.
The upgrade to positive from stable on Ireland's BBB-plus rating comes ahead of a planned year-end exit from its EU/IMF bailout, and backs its status as Europe's strongest bailed out economy amid political turmoil in Portugal and Greece.
The upgrade will also fuel expectations that Moody's, the only major rating agency that rates Irish sovereign debt as non- investment grade, could at least take the country off negative watch in the coming months.
"The outlook revision reflects our view that Ireland's general government debt burden is likely to decline more rapidly, as a percentage of GDP, than we had previously expected," S&P said in a statement.
"Ireland's economic recovery is under way," it said