[Sixstrings]

"Because the U.S. has, relative to its 'AAA' peers, what we consider to be very large budget deficits and rising government indebtedness and the path to addressing these is not clear to us, we have revised our outlook on the long-term rating to negative from stable," the agency said in a statement.

The S&P said the move signals there's at least a one-in-three likelihood that it could lower its long-term rating on the United States within two years.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/42643384

Hrm, well we're getting close to prep time.. I said a couple years ago if the US loses it's AAA rating then I'll get some food storage going. Took a while, but we're getting there. Maybe I should start now.. not like food's getting any cheaper.

[Fishman]

Better get started soon, your dollar will be worth MUCH less at that time. Pretty strong slap at the president indirectly

[Plantagenet]

S&P is finally responding to the giant increase in the deficit engineered by Obama and the dems starting in 2009, and their resistance to any substantive cuts in Obama's future spending plans.

[vision-master]

S&P is finally responding to the giant increase in the deficit engineered by Obama and the dems starting in 2009 TPTB (IMF/ Fed Reserve).

[Pops]

Aren't these the same people who a few years ago gave "Mortgage Backed Securities" a AAA rating when even the basic paperwork wasn't legit and anyone who knew anyone who'd bought a home in a decade knew Everyone was scamming the system?

And now it's threatening to downgrade the US government?

"Ratings" are lipstick used to sell pigs to yokels.

The whole "system" amazes me each and every day it doesn't collapse in a worldwide explosion of laughter.

[Lore]

No real suprise here, other then why it didn't happen sooner.

[Sixstrings]

I hate to drag Obama into this.. but.. the President says don't worry, credit ratings are all political, everything's fine:

Obama Plays Down S&P Outlook Change

The Obama administration moved swiftly Monday to downplay ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgrade of its U.S. credit outlook, calling the decision a political judgment that should not be taken too seriously.

The timing of S&P's announcement was unwelcome for the White House, coming just as President Obama tried to regain the initiative on the deficit debate in Washington.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/42645647

I applaud the President for standing up to the GOP's Medicare voucher crap, BUT, that does not mean our sovereign debt rating "should not be taken too seriously."

Then again.. the Federal Reserve is BUYING ALL THE DARN BONDS ANYWAY. So maybe the President is right, we don't need the bond market cuz we're already printing all the money to fund the government. But we all know where that leads.. inflationary disaster followed by God knows what, maybe a multinational currency just like the NWO tinfoilers have been going on about for twenty years.

"Ratings" are lipstick used to sell pigs to yokels.

My understanding is that credit rating matters because a lot of institutional investors can only invest in AAA stuff.

[Lore]

I My understanding is that credit rating matters because a lot of institutional investors can only invest in AAA stuff.

The rating is negative from stable, but still AAA and a 1 in 3 chance that a downgrade from that will happen in the next two years at which point everyone may be in a bigger tail spin.

A similar downgrade happened to Great Britain a few months back and their markets recovered in a week from it. I’d be more concerned about international markets and global geopolitical events throwing another spanner into the mess.

[Puchica]

And the news keeps coming at a relentless pace, doesn't it? You don't get a chance to digest one thing before the next hits. And now gold poised to cross the 1500 mark. Wonder what's next

[Rod_Cloutier]

The S&P, Moody's, Fitch- They're all in league with the corrupt super rich elites. Why in this day and age does anyone care what they have to say? They should all be in jail for rigging trillions of dollars in mortgage fraud over the past 10 years.

They are financial terrorists who are ruining the world's economy, even faster than it could collapse on its own. There all nuts.

[Lore]

And the news keeps coming at a relentless pace, doesn't it? You don't get a chance to digest one thing before the next hits. And now gold poised to cross the 1500 mark. Wonder what's next

Oil back down to around $100 next.

[EnergyUnlimited]

And the news keeps coming at a relentless pace, doesn't it? You don't get a chance to digest one thing before the next hits. And now gold poised to cross the 1500 mark. Wonder what's next

What do you expect?
2000 mark.

[Keith_McClary]

S&P: Credit Ratings Definitions & FAQs

Note: Ratings from ‘AA’ to ‘CCC’ may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.

There's no AAA-, but there's AAA with a negative outlook.

[smiley]

I nominate this for quote of the day:

Kevin Giddis, managing director of fixed income at Morgan Keegan, wrote in a note to investors.

"The U.S. will continue to do what it takes to make sure there is enough money, enough debt, and enough liquidity to ensure economic growth, while over time, reducing the deficit," he added

http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/18/markets ... /index.htm

It is funny how some people still assume that the US has some control over the things that are happening now. I think we're well past that point. Running 70% deficits in three years in a row is not a sign of any kind of policy, it is runnning around like a madman, trying to patch things up just enough to keep everything afloat.

Right now the US economy is sitting on a raft on the Niagara river, trying to figure out what that big gobbling sound downstream is.