S&P cuts Spain's credit rating (AP) NEW YORK - Standard & Poor's says it's lowering Spain's long-term credit rating by two notches, saying the country's budget problems are likely to get worse because of its weak economy. S&P said Thursday that it thinks Spain's government will have to give further support to the banking sector. The agency is downgrading Spain's long-term sovereign credit rating to "BBB+" from "A." It's also lowering the short-term rating and assigning a negative outlook.