I found this story to be of significance, regarding Ireland’s sovereign credit rating:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/31164904
Also, as background info, this story was worth reading:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/13/news/international/tully_ireland.fortune/index.htm
In my opinion, the broader signficance is that sovereign credit ratings (and associated issues) appear to be getting more scrutiny; and this should only intensify if there is greater economic weakness.
SPX at 939.02 as this post is written