Free Republic

Amid all the political and media hoopla about the "fiscal cliff" crisis, there are a few facts that are worth noting. First of all, despite all the melodrama about raising taxes on "the rich," even if that is done it will scarcely make a dent in the government's financial problems. Raising the tax rates on everybody in the top two percent will not get enough additional tax revenue to run the government for ten days. And what will the government do to pay for the other 355 days in the year? All the political angst and moral melodrama about getting...

Standard & Poor's lowered its credit rating for Spain on Wednesday, in a move that could complicate Madrid's effort to avoid requesting a financial bailout. S&P cut Spain's long-term credit rating two notches to "BBB-" from "BBB+," the ratings agency said in a statement. It also lowered the nation's short-term rating and said the long-term outlook for Spain is negative, meaning it could lower the rate further. The move reflects the risk of "increasing social discontent" as the Spanish economy slips deeper into recession, according to S&P. It also warned of "rising tensions" between the central government and Spain's semi-autonomous...

The last four years have witnessed a decline in the image of the United States around the world, and President Obama’s approval rating has also taken a hit in some regions abroad, according to a series of polls this year. The survey results call into question the assertion, touted by administration officials and echoed in much media reporting, that Obama’s foreign policy has been an unqualified success and that his “engagement” with the international community, especially through the United Nations, has boosted America’s image significantly. Particularly striking in some of the polls is the negative trend in key Islamic countries,...

From Egan Jones: Synopsis: UNITED STATES (GOVT OF) EJR Sen Rating(Curr/Prj) AA-/ N/A Rating Analysis - 9/14/12 EJR CP Rating: A1+ Debt: $15.2B EJR's 1 yr. Default Probability: 1.2% Up, up, and away - the FED's QE3 will stoke the stock market and commodity prices, but in our opinion will hurt the US economy and, by extension, credit quality. Issuing additional currency and depressing interest rates via the purchasing of MBS does little to raise the real GDP of the US, but does reduce the value of the dollar (because of the increase in money supply), and in turn increase...

The following is the text of a statement Tuesday by rating agency Moody’s: Budget negotiations during the 2013 Congressional legislative session will likely determine the direction of the US government’s Aaa rating and negative outlook, says Moody’s Investors Service in the report “Update of the Outlook for the US Government Debt Rating.” If those negotiations lead to specific policies that produce a stabilization and then downward trend in the ratio of federal debt to GDP over the medium term, the rating will likely be affirmed and the outlook returned to stable, says Moody’s. If those negotiations fail to produce such...

MOODY'S THREATENS TO CUT USA RATING WITHOUT DEAL TO CUT DEBT/GDP Sam RoSeptember 11, 2012Moody's is warning that it may cut the US government's credit rating from the Aaa to Aa1 if it is unable to negotiate a deal to materially reduce its federal debt to GDP ratio. Here's the annoucnement from Moody's: ------------------- Moody's issues update on the outlook for the US government's debt rating: Budget negotiations key Global Credit Research - 11 Sep 2012 New York, September 11, 2012 -- Budget negotiations during the 2013 Congressional legislative session will likely determine the direction of the US government's Aaa...

Illinois' credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor's on Wednesday, a move that came after Gov. Pat Quinn's inability to persuade lawmakers to cut costs in the state's debt-ridden public employee pension system. The agency lowered the state's credit rating from A+ to A, citing a "lack of action" on changes aimed at decreasing the pension system's unfunded liability, which could hit $93 billion by next summer if nothing is done. Standard & Poor's also gave Illinois a "negative outlook," saying the state's budget future remains uncertain. It's unclear what impact the new rating will have on Illinois' pocketbook,...

In recent years a wave of new reform Governors has washed over the Midwest, but it did skip a few states. Among them is Illinois, which now has the worst credit rating of any state besides California. Voters may want to pay attention. On Tuesday, Standard & ...

Moody's Investor Service cut the credit rating of the 6 largest US banks with international arms. In anticipation of this, and on general economic jitters, stocks tanked 251 points in the second worst day of trading this year. The downgrade of US banks reflects growing concern about the global economy and the exposore of US companies to the european debt crisis. Wall Street Journal: The Moody's Corp. unit reduced Morgan Stanley's rating to Baa1, which is three notches above the junk, or noninvestment grade, status that many bond buyers avoid. The move stands to add to the company's borrowing costs...

Moody's Ratings is set to downgrade the world's largest banks at 4 p.m., according to new reports out of CNBC. The network says sources tell it Citi, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs will be hit with two notch downgrades. Bank of America is expected to be cut one notch by Moody's. Morgan Stanley, which is also on the list of banks Moody's said it would take action against, is said to be downgraded as well. Nine European banks are expected to be included in the downgrade, which earlier reports noted would include Barclay's, UBS, HSBC, Lloyd's, and RBS.

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...

Moody's announced that it may soon downgrade the long-term credit ratings of 17 of the largest banks in the world. "Capital markets firms are confronting evolving challenges, such as more fragile funding conditions, wider credit spreads, increased regulatory burdens and more difficult operating conditions," wrote the credit ratings agency in a statement. "These difficulties, together with inherent vulnerabilities such as confidence-sensitivity, interconnectedness, and opacity of risk, have diminished the longer term profitability and growth prospects of these firms." Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and UBS could be downgraded by up to three notches. Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank,...

You know there is a reason why Europe just came crawling with an advance handout looking for US assistance: Moody's jsut went apeshit on Europe. In other news, we wouldn't want to be the company that insured Moody's Milan offices.Full release:Moody's adjusts ratings of 9 European sovereigns to capture downside risksAs anticipated in November 2011, Moody's Investors Service has today adjusted the sovereign debt ratings of selected EU countries in order to reflect their susceptibility to the growing financial and macroeconomic risks emanating from the euro area crisis and how these risks exacerbate the affected countries' own specific challenges.Moody's...

Moody's actions can be summarised as follows: - Austria: outlook on Aaa rating changed to negative - France: outlook on Aaa rating changed to negative - Italy: downgraded to A3 from A2, negative outlook - Malta: downgraded to A3 from A2, negative outlook - Portugal: downgraded to Ba3 from Ba2, negative outlook - Slovakia: downgraded to A2 from A1, negative outlook - Slovenia: downgraded to A2 from A1, negative outlook - Spain: downgraded to A3 from A1, negative outlook - United Kingdom: outlook on Aaa rating changed to negative Please see the individual country specific statements below for more detailed...

Stocks accelerated their losses Friday, on track to logging their worst session this year, after stalled debt negotiations in Greece, some disappointing economic news and reports that S&P downgraded a handful of Italian banks. In the latest round of disappointment from the euro zone, ratings agency S&P downgraded 34 of 37 Italian banks, including banking giant UniCredit, citing worries over the banking industry and economic risks in the country. The move comes after the ratings agency's downgrade of Italy's sovereign rating in January to BBB+, along with downgrades of nine other euro zone countries. All three major averages are on...

<p>Will A be the new AA+? Perhaps, if the S&P follows through with its latest threat. Bloomberg reports that [Bloomberg material cannot be posted here] . . . .</p>

FITCH GOES ON RAMPAGE: CUTS SPAIN, ITALY, BELGIUM, CYPRUS, AND SLOVENIA Simone Foxman January 27,2012 Fitch just cut the long-term issuer ratings of 5 EU countries: Belgium: AA+ to AA Spain: AA- to A Italy: A+ to A- Cyprus: BBB to BBB- Slovenia: AA- to A It affirmed Ireland's BBB+ rating with a negative outlook. Borrowing costs have been sinking for these countries lately–particularly for Italy and Spain—after the European Central Bank announced liquidity support measures in early December that have lessened mounting worries about the health of the banking system. While Fitch says that it supports EU leaders actions...

France and Austria lost their triple-A credit ratings yesterday evening—an ill-starred Friday 13th January—as seven other eurozone countries were also downgraded by US-based credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P). The move was described by European leaders as “political” and “inconsistent”, and China claimed the move cast doubt on the credibility of credit ratings agencies. The two triple-A economies were nudged down one notch by S&P, to AA+, but retain top AAA rating from the other two main ratings agencies, Moody's and Fitch. Two notches were struck from the ratings of Italy (to BBB+), Spain (to A), Cyprus (to BB+)...

The Obama administration will be asking Congress to raise the debt limit in the coming days, White House press secretary Jay Carney said on Tuesday. "I'm confident it will be executed in a matter of days, not weeks," he told reporters. The notification by the administration — which had been scheduled for last month — was delayed because Congress has been holding only pro forma sessions.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- There's a good chance France and a few other euro area governments will have their credit ratings downgraded in the near future. That would mark another low point in Europe's long-running debt crisis, but it may not shock the markets. "The downgrades are likely to come sooner rather than later," said Ewen Cameron Watt, chief investment strategist for the BlackRock Investment Institute. "But we believe bond markets have largely factored them in for countries such as France, Italy and Spain." While the bond market may be prepared, the immediate response could be less sanguine in the...