Moody's downgrades German outlook to 'negative'

Moody's downgraded the economic outlook for Germany from "stable" to "negative" on Monday along with outlooks for the Netherlands and Luxembourg, citing risks from a possible Greek exit from the eurozone and potential bailouts for Spain and Italy.

In Germany, the finance ministry immediately shot back by saying the country remained the "eurozone's anchor of stability."

The ministry said it had "taken note of Moody's opinion" while stating the "estimate" put the focus "on short-term risks, while stability prospects in the long term are not mentioned."

"The eurozone has initiated a series of measures which should lead to the durable stabilising of the zone," the ministry said.

"Germany itself is in a solid economic and financial situation," it insisted in a statement.

Moody's also announced that Finland's AAA rating and outlook were unchanged.