DALLAS - Standard & Poor's downgraded Southwest Airlines Co.'s debt one notch to "BBB+" on Wednesday, citing weakening of the carrier's financial position due to the economic slowdown and volatile fuel prices. The rating, down from "A-," is still considered investment-grade, while ratings of most other U.S. carriers are in speculative-grade or junk territory. Southwest had been on S&P's watch list, so the downgrade wasn't a total surprise. On Wednesday, the ratings agency removed Southwest from that list and gave it a "stable" outlook. "The downgrade reflects a weakening in the company's financial profile because of high and volatile (albeit recently somewhat reduced) fuel prices,...
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