S and P downgrades downplayed In the aftermath of the so-called "Black Friday" mass downgrading of eurozone countries, politicians and economists were quick to play down the significance and impact of the move. Indeed at an auction of short-term French government bonds on Monday the country's borrowing costs went down. On Friday, France and Austria lost their AAA credit ratings from Standard and Poor's - slipping one notch to AA+. Elsewhere in the eurozone, Spain was bumped from AA - to A, Italy was downgraded by two notches, from A to BBB+, Portugal's rating was cut two levels to BB. Many in the financial world believe this should provide fresh impetus for the region's leaders to take addition steps to resolve its deepening debt crisis. Angel Gurria, the head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development was philosophical: "Nothing has changed very much, we just have to keep on with the substance, let us not be distracted by this question of the rating agencies and the triple A or the double A; let's just do what has to be done. "One of the problems is that by reacting late, and by trying to please the markets all the time, rather than by taking whatever measures were necessary, we've been chasing our tails, in a way," he added. ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny - who's country Austria was one of those downgraded - said the central bank will do all it can to calm the situation. Eurozone countries have found it easier to find buyers for their government debt recently thanks to a flood of cheap ECB loans to banks in December. It will do the same in February, hoping to avert a credit crunch and help those struggling euro zone debt issuers. More about: Debt rating, Economic crisis, Eurozone in crisis, OECD, Standard & Poor's