The United Kingdom’s mounting pile of government IOUs toppled it from the list of countries holding the highest-rated credit today (Thursday), which resulted in Standard & Poor’s lowering its outlook on the United Kingdom’s debt to “negative” from “stable.”

World stocks climbed strongly on Monday for a fifth session running, lifted by hopes that the U.S. economic downturn may be bottoming out as investors sought to take advantage of cheaper equities.

U.S., European stocks slide after dismal jobs report… Dollar falls to 7-week low vs yen, but rises vs euro… US government debt falls in face of historic low yields… Crude prices fall to lowest level in almost four years