US-based credit rating agency Moody's on Tuesday (11 July) downgraded Ireland's debt to junk status, amid growing market concerns about the stability of the eurozone as the debt crisis reaches Italy and Spain. Citing the "growing possibility" that Ireland may need a second bailout at the end of 2013 and the "increased" likelihood that this bailout will require private sector participation, Moody's downgraded the country's rating by one notch to Ba1 status — meaning that its bonds are now considered "non-investment grade" and pensions funds, for instance, are no longer allowed to purchase them. Moody's made the same move last week when it downgraded Portugal's rating by three notches to Ba2 status. Greece's rating is considerably lower — Caa1 which stands for "substantial risk", just three steps before what a rating agency considers "default" and with no perspective for investors to recover their money.