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NEW YORK, April 6 (Reuters) - Egan-Jones Ratings downgraded the credit level of the United States as Washington has struggled to reduce the federal debt burden, which is projected to surpass the size of the country's economy. The independent rating firm, which issued the downgrade late Thursday, said its senior debt rating on the United States is now AA, its third highest rating, down one notch from AA-plus. It also maintained a negative watch on the world's biggest economy as the federal debt load could rise to $16.7 trillion at the end of 2012. U.S. gross domestic product, in the...

The Brady Bunch has released their annual scorecard rating states based on how strict their gun laws are. The scorecard is a very useful tool to help rights groups understand how their state compares to others on a liberty scale; more points = less liberty. Alaska, Arizona, and Utah have all achieved the coveted Zero Points/Zero Stars on the Brady scale and are now competing to see which state will be the first into negative numbers – which is possible through bonus points. Arizona and Alaska can reach a –2 point score by protecting carry rights on campuses of state...

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...