Free Republic

Checkmate For Japanese Sovereign Debt 4 comments | February 2, 2012 Global Debt Crisis: Greece -> Europe -> Japan? From my previous article: Greece and Portugal are stuck in a very vicious cycle. Greek and Portuguese sovereign bond yields have risen substantially making it nearly impossible for these nations to roll over the debt with yields they can pay. For Greece, rising yields have brought it to the edge of default several times. To prevent a Greek default, the Troika (European Commission, International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank) has been sending large tranches of money to Greece to keep Greek...

Obama’s approval rating plummetsBy Amie Parnes - 12/29/11 05:34 PM ET President Obama enjoyed a surge in popularity this week — but the bounce proved to be remarkably short-lived. A Gallup tracking poll released Thursday showed that Obama is once again underwater, plummeting to 41 percent approval and 50 percent disapproval, a sharp drop from earlier in the week. A survey released Monday showed the president had a sudden uptick in the opinion poll, with 47 percent of respondents approving of the way he was handling his job and 45 percent disapproving. It was the first time since July that...

Short-seller Chanos: Moody's, S&P wrong on China By Katya Wachtel NEW YORK | Tue Dec 6, 2011 4:46pm EST (Reuters) - Hedge fund manager James Chanos, who has been a long-time skeptic on the Chinese growth story, is sticking with his gloomy view of ratings agencies Moody's Corp (MCO.N) and Standard and Poor's, saying their rosy outlook on China's debt only bolsters his bearish bet. The famed short-seller said he's puzzled by the readiness of S&P, a division of McGraw-Hill Companies Inc (MHP.N), to downgrade the sovereign debt of countries like the United States and much of Europe while continuing...

All EU ratings threatened by crisis: Moody's US rating agency Moody's warned Monday that all European Union sovereign ratings were threatened by the current financial crisis. "The continued rapid escalation of the euro area sovereign and banking credit crisis is threatening the credit standing of all European sovereigns," the agency said in a new special comment. Moody's said that "in the absence of policy measures that stabilise market conditions over the short term, or those conditions stabilising for any other reason, credit risk will continue to rise." Greece, Ireland and Portugal all suffered rating downgrades that accelerated unsustainable rises in...

Moody’s Investors Service said it may downgrade the credit ratings of Pennsylvania State University in a sign of the potential scope of the fallout from a sexual abuse scandal at the school. (SNIP) The university now carries high ratings because it has been popular with prospective students, top professors and generous donors, but also because of its efforts over the past 20 years to develop its research capabilities. The university owns the Hershey Medical Center, a hospital that contributed 26 per cent of the school’s $4.6bn in operating revenues in the year ended June 30. Penn State’s football programme contributes...

S&P says mistakenly announced French downgrade (AFP) – 7 hours ago PARIS — Ratings agency Standard and Poor's said Thursday that it had mistakenly announced to some clients a downgrade of France's top "AAA" credit rating, amid speculation of just such a move. "As a result of a technical error, a message was automatically disseminated today to some subscribers of S&P's Global Credit Portal suggesting that France's credit rating had been changed," S&P said in a statement. "This is not the case: the ratings on Republic of France remain 'AAA/A-1+' with a stable outlook and this incident is not related...

Moody's cuts Spain by 2 notches, sees funding risks By Walter Brandimarte NEW YORK | Tue Oct 18, 2011 6:19pm EDT (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday cut Spain's sovereign ratings by two notches, saying high levels of debt in the banking and corporate sectors leave the country vulnerable to funding stress. Worsening growth prospects for the euro zone will also make it more challenging for Spain to reach its ambitious fiscal targets, the ratings agency added. Spain could be downgraded again if the euro zone debt crisis escalates further, Moody's warned. "Since placing Spain's ratings under review in...

President Barack Obama faces a litany of bad news. The president’s job approval rating, his favorability, and his rating on the economy have hit all-time lows. To compound matters, three in four Americans still believe the nation is in a recession and the proportion who thinks the country is moving in the wrong direction is at its highest point in more than a decade. President Barack Obama According to this McClatchy-Marist Poll, the president’s approval rating is at 39% among registered voters nationally, an all-time low for Mr. Obama. For the first time a majority — 52% — disapproves of...

Bulgaria Debt Cheaper to Insure than Higher-Rated Spain Finance | September 19, 2011, Monday| 427 views A placard reading `No to social cutbacks` is seen at the head of a demonstration called by the movement 15-M (also known as `indignados`) against the privatization of public services and welfare cuts, in Pamplona, Spain, 18 Sept. Photo by EPA/BGNES Major rating agencies once again came under fire on Monday after it emerged that the debt of Spain, whose credit status is Aa2, is more expensive to insure than Baa2-rated Bulgaria. The cost of insuring Spanish debt against default rose to 390, compared...

Even as President Obama's approval rating has plummeted across the nation, it was always sunnier in California. Until now. For the first time since Obama became president in January 2009, fewer than half (46 percent) of California voters approve of his performance as president - a figure that's dropped eight percentage points in three months, according to a Field Poll survey of attitudes toward Obama released today. The poll of 1,001 registered state voters was taken Sept. 1-12. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. Nationally, 43.9 percent of respondents approve of Obama's job performance, according...

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 20% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -22 (see trends).

Link only - How Australia got its triple-A credit rating back

Moody's cuts Japan rating, blames politics By Rie Ishiguro | Reuters TOKYO (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service cut its rating on Japan's government debt by one notch to Aa3 on Wednesday, blaming a build-up of debt since the 2009 global recession and revolving-door political leadership that has hampered effective economic strategies. Japan is preparing to elect its sixth leader in five years to replace unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan, under fire for his handling of the response to a March tsunami and subsequent radiation crisis at a crippled nuclear power plant. The downgrade, while not out of the blue, served...

Oh, man, what a bad day for New Jersey.First, Abercrombie & Fitch pays “Jersey Shore” “star” The Situation not to wear its clothing, and now Fitch — no relation — has gone and downgraded the entire state. What is it with these Fitches? Is anybody investigating the connection here? Full disclosure: I live in New Jersey.Fitch, the rater, not the retailer, writes: Fitch Ratings downgrades the State of New Jersey’s outstanding general obligation (GO) bonds to ‘AA-’ from ‘AA’.Fitch also downgrades to ‘AA-’ from ‘AA’ the rating on the Garden State Preservation Trust’s open space revenue bonds. Additionally, Fitch downgrades...

(Reuters) - Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday it affirmed the United States' top-notch credit rating at AAA, giving the world's largest economy a reprieve after it was downgraded by Standard & Poor's little more than a week ago. Fitch said the outlook for the rating was stable. However, it warned that the United States was falling behind its peers among the AAA-rated nations on fiscal matters and the country had to show tangible results in its efforts to reduce the budget deficit. It said it would review its fiscal projections at the end of November and medium-term economic outlook by...

Fitch Ratings said Tuesday it will keep its rating on U.S. debt at the highest grade, AAA. It also says its outlook on the U.S. ratings is stable. The move gives the U.S. a reprieve after fellow ratings agency Standard & Poor's set off a tempest in the stock market last week by downgrading part of the U.S. debt rating from the highest grade to the second-highest grade. Fitch cited the United States' "flexible, diversified and wealthy economy," as well as its flexibility in monetary and exchange rates that allows it to adjust to marketplace shocks. The other main ratings...

Moody's Analytics on Monday lowered its outlook for growth in the U.S. economy this year and next, saying it sees "significantly weaker" prospects for the economy than just a month ago as the country struggles to avoid another recession. The report ...cites the recent political wrangling over the U.S. debt ceiling and the revived debt crisis in Europe as leading factors in the bleaker economic picture. "The odds of a renewed recession over the next 12 months, already one in three, will increase if stock prices continue to fall

Minneapolis — Burdened by sagging poll numbers, hamstrung by poor economic news, and trapped in Washington for much of the summer because of the debt ceiling fight, President Obama will seek to reverse his recent fortunes by hitting the open road. Obama Monday will embark on a three-state, five-town bus tour deep in the heart of the American Midwest. The campaign-style swing comes at a time when a new Gallup Poll shows the president sliding below a 40 % approval rating for the first time. The White House maintains the president will confine his remarks to the economy and will...

Rush Limbaugh plays a clip from CNN's American Morning about Obama's new record low approval rating from today. He then plays one from the archive from CNN's Wolf Blitzer when George W. Bush hit a record low approval rating. This is astounding.

President Barack Obama’s job approval rating sunk below 40 percent for the first time, according to Gallup’s daily tracking poll. Data posted Sunday showed just 39 percent of Americans said they approve of Obama’s performance as president, while 54 percent said they disapprove. His approval ratings have been in the 40 percent range for much of the year, ticking up to the low 50s in May when Osama bin Laden was killed. At two and a half years into his presidency, Obama‘s approval ratings are lower than former President Bill Clinton’s were in August 1995. Former President George W. Bush’s...

Markets react to ratings cuts in the U.S.STORY HIGHLIGHTS NEW: Investors are weighing both the downgrade and the Investors are waiting anxiously for major world markets to open for Monday trading, following the U.S. credit rating downgrade to AA+ from the top rank of AAA. Stock futures tumbled more than 2% at the start of electronic trading Sunday, signaling a nasty investor reaction According to data from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, S&P 500 futures fell 30 points, or 2.7%. Nasdaq-100 futures contracts slipped 54 points, or 2.5%. Dow Jones industrial average futures were 292 points, or 2.6%, lower. The futures...

Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the nation’s credit rating gives House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan every right to say “I told you so.” Even earlier this week when President Obama was taking his victory lap for the debt-ceiling compromise, Ryan was disclosing the cold, hard truths of the economic troubles that lie ahead — truths that a jittery Wall Street has been more than aware of. In an oped column in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal, the Wisconsin Republican reiterated, of course, that the president really has no budget plan. “The president’s February budget,” he wrote, “deliberately dodged the tough...

Kerry Blames The Tea Party For Credit Downgrade By Ben Wolfgang-The Washington Times1 Sen. John Kerry on Sunday laid the blame for the recent downgrade of the nation’s credit rating at the feet of conservative House Republicans. “I believe this is, without question, the tea party downgrade,” Mr. Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Standard & Poor’s rating agency on Friday dropped the U.S. credit rating from AAA to “AA+, questioning the ability of leaders in Washington to deal seriously with the nation’s debt crisis. The Obama administration’s debt-ceiling proposal, which included more spending cuts than the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House adviser is blaming the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating on tea party Republicans, whom he says were unwilling to compromise on how to reduce the federal debt. The adviser to President Barack Obama, David Axelrod, tells CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday .. ... .. also criticized GOP presidential candidates for not speaking up in favor of compromise.

MoveOn.org drives new liberal catch phrase: ‘Tea party downgrade’ Matthew Boyle - The Daily Caller 43 mins ago The left-wing activist group MoveOn.org picked up the new liberal slogan bashing conservatives for Standard & Poor’s U.S. credit rating downgrade: “Tea Party downgrade.” President Obama’s chief campaign strategist David Axelrod and Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry both used the phrase on Sunday talk shows. In a Sunday afternoon email to supporters, MoveOn.org accused tea partiers of being responsible for the first-ever credit downgrade in U.S. history. “This ‘tea party downgrade’ is a shameful blow to our nation’s honor and risks throwing...

A top Obama adviser blames tea party for downgrade WASHINGTON — Who's to blame for the U.S. debt-ceiling mess? Politicians and political advisers took to the airwaves Sunday to point fingers, mostly at each other. David Axelrod, a top political adviser to President Barack Obama, blames the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating on tea party Republicans for being unwilling to compromise on how to reduce the federal debt. The Obama campaign strategist tells CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday that the decision by the Standard & Poor's credit agency to downgrade the U.S. from AAA to AA+ for the...

The U.S. dollar may weaken and Treasury yields rise when Asian markets reopen on Monday, though any selling in response to ratings agency S&P's downgrade of the United States is likely to be tempered by the escalating crisis in the euro zone. The S&P cut in the U.S. long-term credit rating by a notch to AA-plus is an unprecedented blow and results from concerns about the nation's budget deficits and climbing debt burden. It called the outlook "negative," signaling another downgrade is possible in the next 12 to 18 months. "The initial reaction will be a high degree of uncertainty...

The first official demand for a change at the top as a result of the S&P downgrade has come in, courtesy of Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who has just demanded the head of the most incompetent and tax evading Treasury Secretary in US history, on a silver platter. "President Obama should fire U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner over the debt downgrade. If Obama won't remove him, then the US Senate should withdraw its consent of Geithner's appointment to U.S. Treasury because someone in the White House needs to be held responsible for this disaster." Zero Hedge fully...

China, the largest foreign holder of United States debt, said Saturday that Washington needed to “cure its addiction to debts” and “live within its means,” just hours after the rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded America’s long-term debt. Though Beijing has few options other than to continue to buy United States Treasury bonds, Chinese officials are clearly concerned that the country’s substantial holdings of American debt, worth at least $1.1 trillion, are being devalued. “The U.S. government has to come to terms with the painful fact that the good old days when it could just borrow its way out of...

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama sought to distance himself Saturday from the bad news of the nation's first-ever credit-rating downgrade, but lawmakers and presidential candidates showed no such reticence—trading salvos over who's at fault and why. The president, spending the weekend at Camp David, left it to press secretary Jay Carney to say it's clear Washington "must do better" in tackling soaring deficits and other economic woes. A statement from Carney said talks that produced Tuesday's $2 trillion compromise on raising the U.S. borrowing limit had been too drawn-out and "divisive." But the statement didn't directly address Friday's move...

Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade the nation's credit rating reinforces Democrats' call for increasing tax revenue, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Friday.

U.S. AAA credit rating DOWNGRADED for first time in history after Obama's debt deal Unprecedented move will send shockwaves globally S&P cuts long-term credit rating from AAA to AA+ Borrowing costs for consumers and government to rise Comes after Obama signed bill to reduce fiscal deficit By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 1:08 PM on 6th August 2011 The U.S. has lost its top-notch AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's in an unprecedented reversal of fortune for the world's largest economy. S&P cut the long-term U.S. credit rating by one notch to AA+ on concerns about the government's...

The Doomsday Scenario Has Happened: Here's What Banks Said They Would Do US Treasury Building Courtney Comstock Aug. 6, 2011, 7:29 AM Friday night the S&P downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+. To bankers, a default, resulting in a downgrade, coupled with higher capital requirements is the "doomsday scenario" that banks said they were preparing for last month. This is totally different from a default, but banks were preparing for both. Phillips, a political economist at Goldman Sachs, warned clients on a conference call last month that financial sector banks might have higher capital requirements if Treasuries...

The Obama administration attacked the credibility of the analysis underlying Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade the United States' top credit rating on Friday, saying it had found a $2 trillion error. S&P was forced to remove the number from its analysis after Treasury officials discovered that the rating agency's estimates of the government's discretionary spending was $2 trillion too high, sources familiar with the discussions said.

The Obama administration angrily responded to Standard & Poor's decision Friday to downgrade the U.S. credit rating, with one senior official saying the agency's "analysis was way off." 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 the administration official, who was not authorized to speak for attribution. The agency acknowledged the mistake, but said it was sticking with its decision to lower the U.S. rating from a top score of AAA to AA+. "This is a facts-be-damned decision," the official said. "Their analysis was way...

Obama left the White House for the Camp David presidential retreat outside Washington in late afternoon just hours before S&P's announcement. "He was briefed before he left for Camp David and has been receiving updates through the night," the official said.

SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard sought to calm public nerves over global debt woes Saturday after Standard & Poor's cut the United States' credit rating for the first time in history. Gillard told Australians their economy was well placed to weather financial crises looming in the US and Europe and would not be heavily affected by S&P's decision to downgrade the US rating from AAA to AA+. "People should look with confidence at our economic credentials and fundamentals, and people should look with confidence at the ability of this government to deal with global instability," Gillard said.

(CBS/AP) Following the news Friday of Standard and Poor's downgrade on the U.S. debt, several politicians from both sides of the aisle offered their reactions. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released a statement: "This makes the work of the joint committee all the more important, and shows why leaders should appoint members who will approach the committee's work with an open mind -- instead of hardliners who have already ruled out the balanced approach that the markets and rating agencies like S&P are demanding." Reid was referring to the special bipartisan congressional committee -- made up of six Democrats...

S&P cut the long-term U.S. credit rating by one notch to AA-plus. The credit agency said late Friday that it was making the move because the deficit reduction plan passed by Congress on Tuesday did not go far enough to stabilize the country's debt situation. U.S. Treasuries, once undisputedly seen as the safest investment in the world, are now rated lower than bonds issued by countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France or Canada. The outlook on the new U.S. credit rating is negative, S&P said in a statement, a sign that another downgrade is possible in the next...

The United States lost its top-notch AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's on Friday in an unprecedented reversal of fortune for the world's largest economy. S&P cut the long-term US credit rating by one notch to AA-plus on concerns about the government's budget deficits and rising debt burden. The move is likely to raise borrowing costs eventually for the US government, companies and consumers. "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,"...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States lost its top-notch AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's on Friday, in a dramatic reversal of fortune for the world's largest economy. S&P cut the long-term U.S. credit rating by one notch to AA-plus on concerns about growing budget deficits. U.S. Treasuries, once undisputedly seen as the safest investment in the world, are now rated lower than bonds issued by countries such as the UK, Germany, France or Canada

Two government officials tell ABC News that the federal government is expecting and preparing for bond rating agency Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the rating of US debt from its current AAA value. Official reasons given, one official says, will be the political confusion surrounding the process of raising the debt ceiling, and lack of confidence that the political system will be able to agree to more deficit reduction. A source says Republicans saying that they refuse to accept any tax increases as part of a larger deal will be part of the reason cited. The official was unsure if...

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Tuesday there is "no risk" the U.S. will lose its top credit rating amid a new analysis that revised its outlook on American debt to "negative." Geithner took to the airwaves of financial news networks to push back against a report Monday by Standard & Poor's that lowered its outlook on U.S. debt to "negative," reflecting political uncertainty over whether lawmakers will reach an agreement to address long-term debt.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States lost its top-notch AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's on Friday, in a dramatic reversal of fortune for the world's largest economy. S&P cut the long-term U.S. credit rating by one notch to AA-plus on concerns about growing budget deficits. U.S. Treasuries, once undisputedly seen as the safest investment in the world, are now rated lower than bonds issued by countries such as the UK, Germany, France or Canada.

The "most-recent" proposals cut anywhere from nothing in actual spending (Democrat proposal) for 2012 to $90 billion (Republican.) And neither contains any actual cuts on a forward basis - the Republicans are at least honest about it and say they just "hold discretionary non-defense spending at 2011 levels." That's not a cut in spending.

Featured Videos-Neil Cavuto

Standard & Poor's has removed the immediate risk of a downgrade of California's debt rating, saying the state's plan to balance its budget was "largely realistic." S&P on Thursday raised its outlook for California’s rating to “stable” from “negative.” The rating, A-minus, still is the lowest of any of the 50 states. “The negative outlook had been linked to the possibility of a recurring cash deficiency that we now believe the enactment of the fiscal 2012 budget is likely to mitigate for the most part,” S&P said in a report. “Because the state has improved the structural alignment between its...

The first Western downgrade of US government bonds is a fact! The German credit rating agency Feri lowered its rating on US debt by a full notch, from AAA to AA. Here is the German press release: Feri Downgrades US Gov Debt AAA to AAThe English translation: Homburg, 8 June 2011 - The Bad Homburg Feri EuroRating & Research AG downgraded the first credit rating agency's credit rating for the United States from AAA to AA. Feri analysts justify the downgrade by the continuing deterioration of the creditworthiness of the country due to high public debt, inadequate fiscal measures, and...

Now it is official: Barack Obama’s animus and actions towards our energy companies are choking off the prospects of America developing our own energy wealth. From Steven Hayward , writing at Powerline: It is almost as if the United States deliberately wanted to be more dependent on foreign oil. Consider that while the World Economic Forum rates the U.S. 4th in its ranking of the world's most competitive economies, it would rank far down the list if the WEF were to look at the competitiveness of the oil and gas industry in isolation. A proprietary ranking of political and investment...

Arizona earned a zero from the Brady campaign this year, the best rating that the anti-freedom group gives out. Alaska and Utah, two other states with sensible gun laws, also earned zero. Charles Heller, of AZCDL, the Arizona Citizen Defense League says that he has been writing letters to the Brady campaign, demanding the Arizona be awarded a zero rating. This year, AZCDL was successful in obtaining the coveted rating. Currently, the Brady Campaign does not give negative ratings, but that may be possible in the future. AZCDL leaders say that they will work throughout the coming year to break...