Paris, France (AHN) – Moody’s announced Friday it was downgrading the credit rating of all three of France’s top banks because of the difficulty they have borrowing money.

Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas went down one notch from a Aa2 rating to Aa3, which is the fourth-highest investment grade rating. Societe Generale fell from Aa3 to A1, the fifth-highest rating. The best rating a bank can get is AAA.

BNP is the largest bank, Societe Generale is second and Credit Agricole is third.

The credit rating agency also gave each of the three a negative outlook and warned that it might downgrade them again.

Moody’s said that not only had liquidity and funding conditions deteriorated at each of the banks, but that it was likely the situation would become worse because of further funding pressures from the European debt crisis, which has deteriorated.

The ratings cuts for these three banks follow Moody’s previous downgrades in September of Credit Agricole and Societe Generale.

Part of the problem with liquidity comes from the fact that many money market funds in the United States have refused to lend to European banks since the summer. That has made it difficult for eurozone banks to maintain borrowing in U.S. dollars.

The European Central Bank on Thursday announced new measures to make sure that eurozone banks do not run out of cash.

During the past few months, both BNP and Societe Generale announced asset sales aimed at reducing their reliance on short-term wholesale funding.

However, Moody’s cautioned that if too many European banks try to sell assets at the same time it would depress their value and result in selling them at a loss.

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Irving, TX, United States (AHN Sports) – The wind machine was turned up to medium-high Saturday at the TPC Four Seasons and the result was birdies on the endangered species list.

Bogeys and worse ruled the third round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship and second round co-leader Ryan Palmer survived, barely a he bogeyed three of his final five holes for a three-over par 73 that left him five-under par, 205, through 54 holes, a shot better than his 36-hole co-leader, Sergio Garcia.

Both Garcia and Palmer bogeyed the final hole after hitting wayward drives far right of the fairway.

Garcia ended up with a four-over par 74 and will start a shot behind his playing partner as the two will again be paired for Sunday’s final round.

The winds blew 25-30 miles per hour and generally made conditions miserable for most of the field.

Arjun Atwal managed to turn in the day’s best round, a three-under par 67 that moved him to three-under par, 207, where he was tied with Ryuji Imada, who shot an even par round of 70.

The retreat by the leaders brought a lot of players into contention for the final 18. There are 15 players within four shots of the lead.

Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland shot 68s that put them at two-under with Joe Ogilvie. Dallas teenager Jordan Spieth, who missed his high school’s graduation Saturday, shot 72 and stayed in touch with the leader at one-under. He was one of eight players at 209.

A testament to the difficulty of the conditions was the lead pair, Palmer and Garcia, who managed just one birdie between them for the day. That came from Palmer at the par four 10th. Garcia went birdie-free.

Even the most successful player of the day, Atwal, detailed the difficulty afterward.

“You catch the wrong gust,” Atwal explained, “and you could be in serious trouble on this golf course. It’s been a really tough test.”

And the bad news for the contenders is that the wind could blow even harder Sunday.

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Reasons for avoiding bankruptcy include:

Credit Record – Once a party has filed for bankruptcy, this will stay on their record for ten years. With the easy access to credit checks, having bankruptcy on a credit report will undoubtedly make it difficult for parties to receive loans and credit. Even if creditors will allow for limited credit with bankruptcy on the record, extensive explanations are required and, without a doubt, the debtor will be looking at high interest rates and credit fees.

Loss of property – Although not all types of bankruptcy call for liquidation of property, many of the eight types of bankruptcy in the United States will call for some type of repossession of assets. If the banks find that there is anything unnecessary for living, these items will most likely be seized in order to pay for debts and bankruptcy expenses. Chapter 7, or complete bankruptcy, will even require that major purchases, such as a home or excess cars be repossessed.

Continued financial difficulty – Despite societal beliefs that bankruptcy will get you on the right track, bankruptcy can actually add to financial difficulty for years to come. This may include closure of bank and credit accounts, loss of a job or closing of a business, and inability to continue acquiring credit. Keep in mind while bankruptcy may seem to suggest a “clean slate”, there are often debts that will still have to be paid, such as alimony, child support or court judgment costs.

With these negative consequences in mind, it is then necessary to consider possible ways that an individual or business can avoid bankruptcy in the near future:

Debt Consolidation – With rising bankruptcy proceedings in the United States, more debt consolidation companies have come to light. These companies can help debtors to examine current loans and credit debt against available income and will come up with a reasonable monthly payment that incorporates all of these debts. This helps the debtor, who usually feels overwhelmed having to make choices about which debt to pay each month.  The debt consolidation company will also help the debtor set up a reasonable time frame to pay off these debts, giving the debtor something to look forward to in the long run.

Get rid of potential debt problems-With the easy access to credit cards and credit accounts at department stores, it is easy to become swallowed up by overwhelming credit. Especially when money runs low, it is easy to pay cash for the bills due now and then continue racking up the credit card bills for later. One of the first steps in avoiding bankruptcy is to get rid of that credit yourself. Cut up the credit card and call the credit card company to cancel that account. If you can’t afford it out of the bank account, then you can’t have it to spend! This is better than having nothing at all by having things repossessed through bankruptcy.

Speak with debt companies – The first instinct when unable to pay bills on time is to simply hide from the debt companies who continue to call or send bills. Unfortunately, many in debt do not recognize that these companies can actually help with different payment plans! As well, many student loan corporations, mortgage companies and credit card companies will allow for forbearances of loans. Forbearances are a deferment or reduction of the loan because of financial hardship and allows for an individual to get back on their feet.

Plan a budget – A simple step that many debtors forget to try is a weekly or monthly budget that calculates debt ratio to income. This is one of the steps that many debt consolidation companies will do for you, but it can easily be done by yourself with pen and paper or with a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Take time to sit down, write out all of the bills that come in each month and remember to include all expenditures such as gas and groceries. From here you can determine how much money you have that needs to go to bill companies and how much is left for other spending.

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