• Sweden's top four banks downgraded by S&P

Bloomberg said that Sweden's Finance Minister Anders Borg signaled he probably needs to cut growth estimates for the country for a fourth time this year even as he rejected speculation Sweden may need a crisis package to soften the blow.

"The outlook for the Swedish economy is deteriorating" and "a new forecast will be presented by the end of the year," Borg said in a speech in Stockholm.

The largest Nordic economy is stalling as a recession in the euro area wreaks havoc on exports, prompting mass job cuts. Youth unemployment has remained above the European average, reaching a seasonally adjusted 23 percent in October, compared to 7.7 percent for the population as a whole, according to Statistics Sweden.

The country's Riksbank last month signaled it was prepared to cut the repo rate again in December to support growth as Europe’s debt crisis hurts exports and pushes up unemployment. 

“The government’s forecasts have been very optimistic this autumn, which has drawn some attention as they have a rather different view than the market,” Andreas Halldahl, who helps manage about $15 billion in fixed-income assets at Storebrand Kapitalforvaltning AS in Stockholm, told Bloomberg.

“But reality is catching up and they will have to revise both the gross domestic product forecast and budget numbers.”

In the government's 2013 budget bill it predicted growth of 1.6 percent in 2012, 2.7 percent next year and 3.7 percent in 2014.