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Post #1 Sat, Aug 6, 12:01 AM
CitroenSM
Foose fan - 37672

 And so it begins.

Quote from cnn.com;

S&P downgrades U.S. credit rating
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 6, 2011 -- Updated 0256 GMT (1056 HKT)

(CNN) -- The Standard & Poor's rating agency announced Friday that it has downgraded the U.S. credit rating to AA+ from its top rank of AAA.

"The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamics," the agency said about the move, which was announced after the markets had closed.

Rating agencies -- S&P, Moody's and Fitch -- analyze risk and give debt a grade that is supposed to reflect the borrower's ability to repay its loans.

The safest bets are stamped AAA. That's where U.S. debt has stood for years. Moody's first assigned the United States a AAA rating in 1917.

Fitch and Moody's, the other two main credit ratings agencies, maintained the AAA rating for the United States after this week's debt deal, though Moody's lowered its outlook on U.S. debt to "negative."

A negative outlook indicates the possibility that Moody's could downgrade the country's sovereign credit rating within a year or two.

John Chambers, the head of sovereign ratings at S&P, told CNN that the political brinkmanship over the debt ceiling proved to be a key issue, with "the U.S. government getting to the last day before they had cash-management problems."

Few governments separate the budget process from the debt-authorization process as the United States does, he noted.

And, though the budget deal that finally was reached will deliver at least $2.1 trillion in savings over the next decade, that will not suffice, he said. "It's going to be difficult to get beyond that -- at least in the near term -- and you do need to get beyond that to get to a point where the debt-to-GDP ratio is going to stabilize."

Asked who was to blame, Chambers said, "This is a problem that's been a long time in the making -- well over this administration, the prior administration."

Congress should shoulder some of the blame, he said. "The first thing it could have done is to have raised the debt celining in a timely manner so that much of this debate had been avoided to begin with, as it had done 60 or 70 times since 1960 without that much debate."

Chambers added that his agency's decision is likely to have a long-term impact. "Once you lose your AAA, it doesn't usually bounce back," he said.

He pointed to the decision by Congress about whether to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts as one crucial area. "If you let them lapse for the high-income earners, that could give you another $950 billion," he said.

U.S. Treasury officials received S&P's analysis Friday afternoon and alerted the agency to an error that inflated U.S. deficits by $2 trillion, said an administration official, who was not authorized to speak for attribution.

The agency acknowledged the mistake, but said it was sticking with its decision. The administration official called it "a facts-be-damned decision ... Their analysis was way off, but they wouldn't budge."

But Chambers defended his agency's move. "It doesn't make a material difference," he said. "It doesn't change the fact that your debt-to-GDP ratio, under most plausible assumptions, will continue to rise over the next decade."

Rumors of a possible downgrade surfaced shortly after Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced in Rome that finance ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized nations may meet "in a few days" to discuss the sagging world economy.

The G7 members are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

The announcement came on a day when financial anxiety gripped the globe. Stock markets worldwide saw intense volatility amid worries of a widening debt crisis in Europe and a stalled economic recovery in the United States.

Stock market values fell across Asia and Europe on Friday. American markets were dramatically up and down a day after having their worst day since the 2008 financial crisis.

Concerns about debt issues in Europe appeared to battle with optimism that a positive U.S. jobs report indicated the American economy is not headed into a new recession -- the dreaded "double-dip."

"The crisis in Europe is quickly becoming on par with the financial crisis of 2008," David Levy, portfolio manager at Kenjol Capital Management, told CNN Money. "The jobs report shows that things aren't getting much worse in the U.S., but the focus is clearly on Europe at this point."

The Dow Jones index spiked 170 points in early trading on a better-than-expected jobs report, but then dropped by 200 points in mid-morning trading. It closed Friday up 60.93 points (0.54%). The Nasdaq closed down 23.98 points (0.94%).

In London, the FTSE 100 closed off 146 points, or 2.7%, to close the week down nearly 10%. Germany's DAX fell 2.78% to finish the week down nearly 13%. And the French CAC 40 declined 1.26% to finish the week off 10.73%.

"We are going to get through this," Obama said prior to the downgrade at the Washington Navy Yard, where he announced a jobs program for veterans. "Things will get better. And we're going to get there together."

Obama, who spoke Friday afternoon with France's Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the crisis, noted that July marked the 17th consecutive month of private-sector job growth in the U.S., but said much more work needs to be done.

CNN's Ben Brumfield, Laura Smith-Spark, Mariano Castillo, Mike Pearson and Kendra Petersen contributed to this report.
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" - Sir Stirling Moss
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(")_(")
Post #2 Sat, Aug 6, 12:36 AM
Vanilla Ice
Supercar Messiah - 11968

 Microsoft, ExxonMobil, Johnson & Johnson, and ADP have credit ratings that are better than the United States'.
Post #3 Sat, Aug 6, 12:44 AM
426hemi
nabe shogun - 21822

 ha ha ha america
I am a machine fueled by oil and the blood of foreigners.
Post #4 Sat, Aug 6, 1:16 AM
numbers
Secret Santas - 15588

 LOL!
Don't post people's personal info and pictures, thanks - admin

christofurr owes me $20

"I suck." - Walperstyle
Post #5 Sat, Aug 6, 1:56 AM
christofurr
TROLOLOLOLOLOL - 57120

 owned
I used to bench press sets of 47.5kg dumbells and 130kg+ straight bar when i was at the gym. There were plenty of muscles.
China gets massive negative media attention because stuff really is that shitty over there. Sure places like Tokyo are first rate but the rest of the country isn't.
I don't appreciate threats, nor do I like being called a nigger.
Post #6 Sat, Aug 6, 2:37 AM
Big Rob
Big Rob - 66803

 who cares
I like Lotus.The cool,fast cars they,I like cars.
Post #7 Sat, Aug 6, 3:19 AM
SupraMan
RichSon - 48048

 haha america is so shit
Moderators Are Rude!!!!!
Post #8 Sat, Aug 6, 4:32 AM
RLQ
new member - 71381

 Good.
"People who own guns but don't support abortion don't matter anyway because their penises are so small that they can't even get a girl pregnant." SupraMan
Post #9 Sat, Aug 6, 4:39 AM
Baklava
Supercar Messiah - 20366

 america going bankrupt. ap was right!
Post #10 Sat, Aug 6, 4:49 AM
RLQ
new member - 71381

 I waited too long to buy gold.
"People who own guns but don't support abortion don't matter anyway because their penises are so small that they can't even get a girl pregnant." SupraMan


Edited by RLQ - Sat, Aug 6, 8:42 PM
Post #11 Sat, Aug 6, 5:04 AM
christofurr
TROLOLOLOLOLOL - 57120
Quote from RLQ
I waited too long to buy gold.
I used to bench press sets of 47.5kg dumbells and 130kg+ straight bar when i was at the gym. There were plenty of muscles.
China gets massive negative media attention because stuff really is that shitty over there. Sure places like Tokyo are first rate but the rest of the country isn't.
I don't appreciate threats, nor do I like being called a nigger.
Post #12 Sat, Aug 6, 5:04 AM
christofurr
TROLOLOLOLOLOL - 57120
Quote from RLQ
I waited too long to buy gold.
I used to bench press sets of 47.5kg dumbells and 130kg+ straight bar when i was at the gym. There were plenty of muscles.
China gets massive negative media attention because stuff really is that shitty over there. Sure places like Tokyo are first rate but the rest of the country isn't.
I don't appreciate threats, nor do I like being called a nigger.
Post #13 Sat, Aug 6, 5:04 AM
christofurr
TROLOLOLOLOLOL - 57120
Quote from RLQ
I waited too long to buy gold.
I used to bench press sets of 47.5kg dumbells and 130kg+ straight bar when i was at the gym. There were plenty of muscles.
China gets massive negative media attention because stuff really is that shitty over there. Sure places like Tokyo are first rate but the rest of the country isn't.
I don't appreciate threats, nor do I like being called a nigger.
Post #14 Sat, Aug 6, 5:04 AM
christofurr
TROLOLOLOLOLOL - 57120
Quote from RLQ
I waited too long to buy gold.
I used to bench press sets of 47.5kg dumbells and 130kg+ straight bar when i was at the gym. There were plenty of muscles.
China gets massive negative media attention because stuff really is that shitty over there. Sure places like Tokyo are first rate but the rest of the country isn't.
I don't appreciate threats, nor do I like being called a nigger.
Post #15 Sat, Aug 6, 5:04 AM
christofurr
TROLOLOLOLOLOL - 57120
Quote from RLQ
I waited too long to buy gold.
I used to bench press sets of 47.5kg dumbells and 130kg+ straight bar when i was at the gym. There were plenty of muscles.
China gets massive negative media attention because stuff really is that shitty over there. Sure places like Tokyo are first rate but the rest of the country isn't.
I don't appreciate threats, nor do I like being called a nigger.
Post #16 Sat, Aug 6, 5:04 AM
christofurr
TROLOLOLOLOLOL - 57120
Quote from RLQ
I waited too long to buy gold.
I used to bench press sets of 47.5kg dumbells and 130kg+ straight bar when i was at the gym. There were plenty of muscles.
China gets massive negative media attention because stuff really is that shitty over there. Sure places like Tokyo are first rate but the rest of the country isn't.
I don't appreciate threats, nor do I like being called a nigger.
Post #17 Sat, Aug 6, 5:14 AM
Metamorphosis
? - 13618

 You waited too, to buy gold, did you Chris?
Post #18 Sat, Aug 6, 5:35 AM
944turb0
Supercar Messi - 130735

 i too to waited gold
One of my favorite misinformed "opinions" about the 9/11 event is the hilariously overblown claims that part of the reason the Twin Towers collapsed was the extremely high temperature of burning jet fuel caused the steel structures to warp and partially melt. Anybody that knows anything about both fire and metal should recognize this is a complete fallacy and utter lunacy. Steel is a conductor of heat, it isn't something that just absorbs it and melts down. Have you ever tried to burn a paper clip, or a nail? Fire just doesn't work like that.
Post #19 Sat, Aug 6, 6:56 AM
CitroenSM
Foose fan - 37672
Quote from Big Rob
who cares
You, when your country goes bankrupt.
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" - Sir Stirling Moss
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
Post #20 Sat, Aug 6, 6:56 AM
xDRAN0x
Supercar Messiah - 59913

 so much for Obama, can'T believe you guys voted for that clown.
Supercars.net's most experienced touge driver.
Post #21 Sat, Aug 6, 6:57 AM
MooSquad
dus - 102003

 Thank you, republicans happy now?
Post #22 Sat, Aug 6, 7:01 AM
xDRAN0x
Supercar Messiah - 59913
Quote from MooSquad
Thank you, republicans happy now?
we need a republican USA

Also they should start taxing properly and stopping cash evasion! (even though that's the fault of Rs)
Supercars.net's most experienced touge driver.
Post #23 Sat, Aug 6, 7:06 AM
CitroenSM
Foose fan - 37672
Quote from xDRAN0x
we need a republican USA

Also they should start taxing properly and stopping cash evasion! (even though that's the fault of Rs)
Except the fact that when Bill Clinton stept down the US had a surplus in it's economy and after GWB it has the biggest deficit in the history of mankind?
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" - Sir Stirling Moss
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
Post #24 Sat, Aug 6, 7:08 AM
xDRAN0x
Supercar Messiah - 59913
Quote from CitroenSM
Except the fact that when Bill Clinton stept down the US had a surplus in it's economy and after GWB it has the biggest deficit in the history of mankind?
The government failed to do anything about the crisis :

The justification used by S&P – blaming the dysfunctional US political system for being unable to make significant fiscal reform – will set off another debate about US government spending and the shambolic process to raise the debt ceiling that ended earlier in the week
Supercars.net's most experienced touge driver.
Post #25 Sat, Aug 6, 7:08 AM
Baklava
Supercar Messiah - 20366

 a republican goverment would make the problems worse.
Posted: Today
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All Forums > General Chat > S&P downgrades U.S. credit rating > Post Reply
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