[00:00.00]Stock markets in Europe and the United States have fallen sharply[00:04.11]in response to further signs that the debt crisis in Greece is intensifying[00:08.46]and could spread to other countries.[00:10.51]Share prices in New York, London, Frankfurt and Paris[00:13.81]fell by more than 2% after a major international credit rating agency[00:18.41]Standard & Poor's downgraded Greek debt[00:21.40]to a level known informally as junk.[00:23.33]Nils Blythe has more.[00:24.82]Standard & Poor's downgraded its assessment[00:27.56]of Greek bonds to the so-called junk status[00:30.04]because of the growing danger[00:31.97]that the bond holders will not be paid back in full.[00:34.59]Many big investment funds have rules[00:37.45]that forbid them from holding junk bonds,[00:39.13]say the move is likely to trigger a further round of selling.[00:42.17]Share markets have taken fright,[00:44.16]fearing that if Greece does default on its debts,[00:46.78]it would hit many European banks which hold Greek bonds[00:50.01]and could trigger a wider financial crisis.[00:52.75]Already pressure is mounting on Portugal[00:55.86]which has also seen its credit rating downgraded today,[00:58.84]although it remains above junk status.