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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.

Christina Romer, the former chair of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers on Friday offered a rather strong opinion concerning the announcement by Standard & Poor's that the credit rating agency downgraded America's debt to AA+. Appearing on HBO's "Real Time," Romer said we're "pretty darn f--ked" (video follows with transcript and absolutely no commentary needed): ---- BILL MAHER, HOST: So, excuse my language, but we used to do a segment on this show called “How F—ked Are We?” (VIDEO CLIP) MAHER: I didn’t expect that there. This, just before we went on the air they said our rating got downgraded....

(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...

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.

Standard & Poor’s took the unprecedented step of downgrading the U.S. government’s “AAA” sovereign credit rating Friday in a move that could send shock waves through global. The following is a press release from Standard & Poor’s: – We have lowered our long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States of America to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’ and affirmed the ‘A-1+’ short-term rating. – We have also removed both the short- and long-term ratings from CreditWatch negative. – The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in...

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,"...

Throughout the debate over the debt ceiling, the media did all of us a great disservice. They reported as though the Republicans were threatening to ruin America's credit unless they got their way. Closer to the truth: If only conservatives like Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., had gotten their way -- i.e., huge spending cuts -- perhaps we wouldn't have just been downgraded by S&P. DeMint predicted ahead of time that none of the debt deals on the table except for "Cut, Cap and Balance" would prevent a downgrade. He has been vindicated.

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...

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

Freshman Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Tuesday announced his support for strict spending caps, which put him at odds with his party's leadership and President Obama.  Manchin told an audience in South Charleston, W.Va., he would endorse the "CAP Act," which sets a tighter spending limit than what the president's budget calls for, as well as a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. The senator suggested the legislation could help Republicans and Democrats agree to a deal to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.  "Today, I will be announcing my support for two proposals that I believe provide a good...

The Senate voted to kill a House-approved bill to raise the debt ceiling, leaving the ball in the court of Senate leadership to produce a deficit reduction bill, with just days before the Aug. 2 deadline. The vote was 59-41. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid followed through on his promise to kill the bill, pushed through the House a day late by House Speaker John Boehner. The White House, which has thrown its weight behind a Reid proposal, had promised to veto the bill had it miraculously passed the Senate. The Senate also killed the Cut, Cap, Balance Act last...

Sarah Palin criticizes Boehner for trying to reinvent the wheel and not sticking with Cut, Cap, and Balance which is why he is having trouble getting enough votes to pass his current plan. But she also criticizes Obama for scaring the American people with this crisis mentality and says he doesn’t understand that we have a spending problem in this country, which prompts her to reiterate: “It’s the spending stupid!” "That's the hypocrisy that I guess is inherit in this politics as usual from these Washington DC characters, they say one thing as candidates and they get elected and do...

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) criticized the Tea Party wing of the GOP on Tuesday for failing to get behind Republican leadership on a deficit plan. "Our people have to understand that we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good," Barbour said. Barbour said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) had shown "courage" in the deficit debate by agreeing to compromise in order to raise the debt ceiling. "In politics, purity is a dead dog loser," he said. "We cannot go out with the idea that we're going to be pure, or we're going to do nothing." Speaking...

Fox News has received details of the "Two-Step Approach to Hold President Obama Accountable" that Speaker John Boehner will pitch to his fellow House Republicans Monday at closed-door conference meeting. The pitch centers on new legislation that includes a $1.2 trillion cap on discretionary spending. The approach was received from a senior GOP leadership aide and reads as follows: Two-Step Approach to Hold President Obama Accountable Republicans insisted if the President wants his debt ceiling increase, the American people will require serious spending cuts and reforms. This two-step approach meets House Republicans' criteria by (1) making spending cuts that are...

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner told fellow Republicans on Sunday that he is considering a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution as part of a bill that would raise the debt ceiling, a source who heard his message said.

Hoyer: Balanced Budget Amendment Would ‘Make it Virtually Impossible to Raise’ Taxes Wednesday, July 20, 2011 By Terence P. Jeffrey (CNSNews.com) - House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D.-Md.) said on the House floor last night that if the balanced budget amendment Republicans are supporting is ratified and included in the Constitution it would make it “virtually impossible” to raise taxes. “In order to pay our bills, Republicans would require us to pass a Constitutional amendment that would permanently enshrine their partisan budget priorities in law and make it virtually impossible to raise revenue,” Hoyer said. The push for a balanced...

President Obama has done nothing to earn his Nobel peace prize, but after yesterday's performance at the White House podium no one should begrudge him an Oscar. His performance was mean-spirited, petulant, more politically vicious than anything we ever heard from Richard Nixon -- and altogether a total crock of you-know-what. But it served the president's purpose, which is to avoid having to make the one choice he fears most: either cutting back government entitlements, or going down in history as the American president who defaulted on our country's debt and drove the world's most productive economy over a cliff.

At his press conference a few minutes ago, Obama whined Boehner wouldn't return his phone call this afternoon.

The Democratic-controlled Senate on Friday narrowly voted to block a Republican measure that would force Congress to pass a stringent balanced budget amendment and cap spending before increasing the debt ceiling. The legislation, a conservative priority, never had a chance of passing, but the strictly partisan 51-46 vote to table the “Cut, Cap and Balance” bill highlighted the partisan divide in Washington over how to tackle spending and raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit.