U.S.-based international credit rating agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) lowered the credit outlook for Brazil from stable to negative due to the harmful effect of embezzlement incidents on the economy. S&P's credit score for Brazil remained at BBB-, meaning that the country's economy is at the lowest investable level.S&P reaffirmed the stable outlook for Brazil in March, but then the economic situation changed dramatically. S&P suggested that the Brazilian government take firm action to handle the country's fiscal problems.S&P's Lisa Schineller, who is the primary analyst for Brazil, said in a conference call that in the last four months "risks have tilted to the down side" as the economic slowdown in Brazil is deeper than expected, and congress resists fiscal austerity measures. Thus, Brazil is unable to deal with its debt burden, which is at a serious level of 62.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Experts have said that the Brazilian economy is far from having a safe investment status.The Brazilian Ministry of Finance released a statement on Tuesday that avoided the outlook downgrade by S&P, claiming that the process of rebalancing the Brazilian economy is underway and will produce results in the following few months. The ministry's statement had a positive tone about the Brazilian economy becoming competitive in the foreseeable future. Another rating decrease by S&P will result in Brazil ending up in junk status, which would significantly increase foreign financing costs and the exit of risk-averse investors.