United States federal government credit-rating downgrade, 2011
Encyclopedia
Credit rating agency
Standard & Poor's
(S&P) downgraded its credit rating of the U.S. federal government
from AAA to AA+ on August 5, 2011.
This was the first time the government was given a rating below AAA. S&P had announced a negative outlook on the AAA rating in April 2011. The downgrade to AA+ occurred four days after the 112th United States Congress
voted to raise the debt ceiling of the federal government by means of the Budget Control Act of 2011
on August 2, 2011.
The downgrade was criticized by the U.S. Treasury Department
, both Democratic
and Republican Party
political figures, and many businessmen and economists.
Both Fitch Ratings and Moody's
, designated like S&P as nationally recognized statistical rating organization
s (NRSRO) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, retained the U.S.'s triple-A rating. Moody's, however, changed its outlook to negative on June 2, 2011 and Fitch changed its outlook to negative on November 28, 2011.
is issued by a credit rating agency (CRA). A credit rating assigned to U.S. sovereign debt is an expression of how likely the assigning CRA thinks it is that the U.S. will pay back its debts. A credit rating assigned to U.S. sovereign debt also influences the interest rates the U.S. will have to pay on its debt; if its debtholders know the debt will be paid back, they do not have to price the chance of default into the interest rate. Some lenders also have contractual requirements only to hold debt above a certain credit rating.
The U.S. government enjoys the highest credit rating ("AAA"/"Aaa") from two of the Big Three
CRAs. The U.S. enjoyed the "gold standard" of triple-A ratings from all three agencies (Fitch, Moody's and S&P) from the time of their recognition as standards by the SEC until the S&P downgrade in early August 2011.
Government agencies such as the Government Accountability Office
, the Congressional Budget Office
, the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Treasury Department have all reported that the federal government is facing a series of important financing challenges. In the short-run, tax revenues have declined significantly due to a severe recession
and tax-policy choices, while expenditures have expanded for wars, unemployment insurance and other safety net spending. In the long-run, expenditures related to healthcare programs such as Medicare
and Medicaid
are growing considerably faster than the economy overall as the population matures.
(GDP), and net government debt
rising to about 80 percent or more of GDP by 2013, to be high relative to other "AAA" countries. According to S&P, meaningful progress towards balancing the budget would be required to move the U.S. back to a "stable" outlook. The S&P press release stated: "We believe there is a material risk that U.S. policymakers might not reach an agreement on how to address medium- and long-term budgetary challenges by 2013; if an agreement is not reached and meaningful implementation is not begun by then, this would in our view render the U.S. fiscal profile meaningfully weaker than that of peer 'AAA' sovereigns."
In June, Moody's followed suit, warning that if Congress did not quickly raise the debt ceiling above $14.3 trillion, the agency might reduce the debt rating. Moody's also commented on the political process, warning that the heightened polarization on both sides increased the risk of a default. On July 14, 2011, S&P issued a research update putting the U.S. debt on a 90-day CreditWatch.
On July 16, 2011, Egan-Jones Rating Company
, a smaller CRA, cut its rating from AAA to AA+, the first NRSRO to do so.
that same week:
Barack Obama
's 2012 federal budget
.
and Nobel Memorial Prize winner Paul Krugman
, also criticized the downgrade. Michael Moore demanded Obama "show some guts" and have the head of Standard & Poors arrested.
According to Mike Allen's
Politico Playbook, "As a result of an error in constructing discretionary spending levels underlying the analysis, the deficit was $2 trillion higher over 10 years than the Congressional Budget Office would estimate. Treasury flagged the discrepancy to S&P, which admitted a mistake."
An August 7, 2011, editorial by Bloomberg
mentioned that several other countries downplayed the downgrade.
and the British pound
, indicating a general flight to safe assets amid concerns about a European debt crisis.
However, based on historical information from Bloomberg the cost to insure U.S. debts against default has risen from an average of around 25 basis points in 2007 to a range from 55 to 75 basis points in 2011. A higher cost of insurance is typically associated with increased risk of default.
In the two weeks after the downgrade announcement, SEC and Department of Justice announced that S&P was under investigation. Many news agencies described the investigations as backlash against the S&P downgrade. They noted that all three major credit-rating agencies — S&P, Fitch, and Moody's — had similar failings in predicting the sub-prime crisis, but that only S&P was targeted for investigation.
Official S&P video
Credit rating agency
A Credit rating agency is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves...
Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's is a United States-based financial services company. It is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds. It is well known for its stock-market indices, the US-based S&P 500, the Australian S&P/ASX 200, the Canadian...
(S&P) downgraded its credit rating of the U.S. federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
from AAA to AA+ on August 5, 2011.
This was the first time the government was given a rating below AAA. S&P had announced a negative outlook on the AAA rating in April 2011. The downgrade to AA+ occurred four days after the 112th United States Congress
112th United States Congress
The One Hundred Twelfth United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and will end on January...
voted to raise the debt ceiling of the federal government by means of the Budget Control Act of 2011
Budget Control Act of 2011
The Budget Control Act of 2011 was passed by the 112th United States Congress signed into law by President Barack Obama. It brought conclusion to the 2011 United States debt ceiling crisis, which had threatened to lead the United States into sovereign default on or about August 3, 2011.The law...
on August 2, 2011.
The downgrade was criticized by the U.S. Treasury Department
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
, both Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
political figures, and many businessmen and economists.
Both Fitch Ratings and Moody's
Moody's
Moody's Corporation is the holding company for Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Service, a credit rating agency which performs international financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities. The company also ranks the credit-worthiness of borrowers using a standardized...
, designated like S&P as nationally recognized statistical rating organization
Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization
A Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization is a credit rating agency that issues credit ratings that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission permits other financial firms to use for certain regulatory purposes...
s (NRSRO) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, retained the U.S.'s triple-A rating. Moody's, however, changed its outlook to negative on June 2, 2011 and Fitch changed its outlook to negative on November 28, 2011.
Background
A credit ratingCredit rating
A credit rating evaluates the credit worthiness of an issuer of specific types of debt, specifically, debt issued by a business enterprise such as a corporation or a government. It is an evaluation made by a credit rating agency of the debt issuers likelihood of default. Credit ratings are...
is issued by a credit rating agency (CRA). A credit rating assigned to U.S. sovereign debt is an expression of how likely the assigning CRA thinks it is that the U.S. will pay back its debts. A credit rating assigned to U.S. sovereign debt also influences the interest rates the U.S. will have to pay on its debt; if its debtholders know the debt will be paid back, they do not have to price the chance of default into the interest rate. Some lenders also have contractual requirements only to hold debt above a certain credit rating.
The U.S. government enjoys the highest credit rating ("AAA"/"Aaa") from two of the Big Three
Big Three (credit rating agencies)
The Big Three credit rating agencies are Standard & Poor's , Moody's, and Fitch Group. S&P and Moody's are US-based, while Fitch is dual-headquartered in New York City and London, and is controlled by the France-based FIMALAC. The European Union has considered setting up a state-supported EU-based...
CRAs. The U.S. enjoyed the "gold standard" of triple-A ratings from all three agencies (Fitch, Moody's and S&P) from the time of their recognition as standards by the SEC until the S&P downgrade in early August 2011.
Government agencies such as the Government Accountability Office
Government Accountability Office
The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:...
, the Congressional Budget Office
Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides economic data to Congress....
, the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Treasury Department have all reported that the federal government is facing a series of important financing challenges. In the short-run, tax revenues have declined significantly due to a severe recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
and tax-policy choices, while expenditures have expanded for wars, unemployment insurance and other safety net spending. In the long-run, expenditures related to healthcare programs such as Medicare
Medicare (United States)
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
and Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
are growing considerably faster than the economy overall as the population matures.
Warnings of a downgrade
On April 18, 2011, U.S.-based rating agency S&P issued a "negative" outlook on the U.S.'s "AAA" (highest quality) sovereign-debt rating for the first time since the rating agency began in 1860, indicating there was a one-in-three chance of an outright reduction in the rating over the next two years. S&P considered the government budget deficit of more than 11 percent of gross domestic productGross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
(GDP), and net government debt
United States public debt
The United States public debt is the money borrowed by the federal government of the United States at any one time through the issue of securities by the Treasury and other federal government agencies...
rising to about 80 percent or more of GDP by 2013, to be high relative to other "AAA" countries. According to S&P, meaningful progress towards balancing the budget would be required to move the U.S. back to a "stable" outlook. The S&P press release stated: "We believe there is a material risk that U.S. policymakers might not reach an agreement on how to address medium- and long-term budgetary challenges by 2013; if an agreement is not reached and meaningful implementation is not begun by then, this would in our view render the U.S. fiscal profile meaningfully weaker than that of peer 'AAA' sovereigns."
In June, Moody's followed suit, warning that if Congress did not quickly raise the debt ceiling above $14.3 trillion, the agency might reduce the debt rating. Moody's also commented on the political process, warning that the heightened polarization on both sides increased the risk of a default. On July 14, 2011, S&P issued a research update putting the U.S. debt on a 90-day CreditWatch.
On July 16, 2011, Egan-Jones Rating Company
Egan-Jones Rating Company
Egan-Jones Rating Company, also known as EJR, was founded in 1995 and actively rates the credit worthiness of approximately 2000+ high yield and high grade U.S. corporate debt issuers. Egan-Jones is wholly supported by investors to minimize the potential for conflicts of interest in accessing...
, a smaller CRA, cut its rating from AAA to AA+, the first NRSRO to do so.
S&P rationale for the downgrade
On August 5, 2011, representatives from S&P announced the company's decision to give a first-ever downgrade to U.S. sovereign debt, lowering the rating one notch to "AA+", with a negative outlook.Governance and policy-making stability
S&P was direct in its criticism of the governance and policy-making process, which took the U.S. to the brink of default as part of the 2011 U.S. debt-ceiling crisisUnited States debt-ceiling crisis
The United States debt-ceiling crisis was a financial crisis in 2011 that started as a debate in the United States Congress about increasing the debt ceiling. The immediate crisis ended when a complex deal was reached that raised the debt ceiling and reduced future government spending...
that same week:
- "More broadly, the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned when we assigned a negative outlook to the rating on April 18, 2011. Since then, we have changed our view of the difficulties in bridging the gulf between the political parties over fiscal policy, which makes us pessimistic about the capacity of Congress and the Administration to be able to leverage their agreement this week into a broader fiscal consolidation plan that stabilizes the government's debt dynamics any time soon."
- "The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy. Despite this year's wide-ranging debate, in our view, the differences between political parties have proven to be extraordinarily difficult to bridge, and, as we see it, the resulting agreement fell well short of the comprehensive fiscal consolidation program that some proponents had envisaged until quite recently. Republicans and Democrats have only been able to agree to relatively modest savings on discretionary spending while delegating to the Select Committee decisions on more comprehensive measures. It appears that for now, new revenues have dropped down on the menu of policy options. In addition, the plan envisions only minor policy changes on Medicare and little change in other entitlements, the containment of which we and most other independent observers regard as key to long-term fiscal sustainability."
Revenues
S&P revised the revenue assumptions underlying one of their future debt-level projections:- "Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the actBudget Control Act of 2011The Budget Control Act of 2011 was passed by the 112th United States Congress signed into law by President Barack Obama. It brought conclusion to the 2011 United States debt ceiling crisis, which had threatened to lead the United States into sovereign default on or about August 3, 2011.The law...
."
Improving the rating
The report specifically refused to take a position on the blend of policy choices necessary to improve or maintain the credit rating:- "Standard & Poor's takes no position on the mix of spending and revenue measures that Congress and the Administration might conclude is appropriate for putting the U.S.'s finances on a sustainable footing.
Criticism
Both Democratic and Republican politicians criticized S&P's decision, as well as placing blame with the other party. Few blamed themselves despite bi-partisan Congressional responsibility for passing budget deficits from 2002 onward and significant deficits for the 2012–2021 periods in U.S. PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's 2012 federal budget
2012 United States federal budget
The 2012 United States federal budget is the United States federal budget to fund government operations for the fiscal year 2012, which is October 2011–September 2012...
.
From the Obama administration
Almost immediately after S&P announced the downgrade, first reported after 8 p.m. on a Friday night, Obama administration officials began to publicly criticize S&P's decision.From Republican political figures
Republican strategists blamed Democratic intransigence for the rating agency's decision, and many Republican presidential candidates blamed the actions of Obama:- Tim PawlentyTim PawlentyTimothy James "Tim" Pawlenty , also known affectionately among supporters as T-Paw, is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota . He was a Republican candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election from May to August 2011...
: Pawlenty pinned the blame on Obama calling him "inept when it comes to creating the conditions or job creation and economic growth". He called for a new direction and president. - Jon HuntsmanJon Huntsman, Jr.Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 16th Governor of Utah. He also served in the administrations of four United States presidents and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.Huntsman worked as a White House staff assistant for...
: Huntsman blamed “out-of-control spending and a lack of leadership in Washington" noting that the country needs "new leadership in Washington committed to fiscal responsibility, a balanced budget, and job-friendly policies". - Mitt RomneyMitt RomneyWillard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
: Romney blamed Obama's failed "leadership on the economy". He noted that "the only way things will get better is with new leadership in the White House." - Rep. Michele BachmannMichele BachmannMichele Marie Bachmann is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , a post she has held since 2007. The district includes several of the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, such as Woodbury, and Blaine as well as Stillwater and St. Cloud.She is currently a...
: Bachmann noted that Obama "has destroyed the credit rating of the United States through his failed economic policies and his inability to control government spending by raising the debt ceiling". She called on Obama to seek the resignation of U.S. Treasury SecretaryUnited States Secretary of the TreasuryThe Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
Timothy Geithner and "to submit a plan with list of cuts to balance the budget this year, turn our economy around and put Americans back to work."
From Democratic political figures
Democratic politicians placed the blame for the downgrade on Republicans or elements of the Republican Party.- Senator John KerryJohn KerryJohn Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
referred to this as the "Tea Party downgrade," blaming Republican intransigence regarding revenues and disregard for the consequences of a default.
From commentators
In addition to the Obama administration's criticism, several liberal commentators, among them billionaire Warren BuffettWarren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...
and Nobel Memorial Prize winner Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman
Paul Robin Krugman is an American economist, professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times...
, also criticized the downgrade. Michael Moore demanded Obama "show some guts" and have the head of Standard & Poors arrested.
According to Mike Allen's
Michael Allen (journalist)
Michael Allen is the chief political reporter for Politico, and writes the daily Playbook; in April 2010, the New York Times called him "The Man The White House Wakes Up To."...
Politico Playbook, "As a result of an error in constructing discretionary spending levels underlying the analysis, the deficit was $2 trillion higher over 10 years than the Congressional Budget Office would estimate. Treasury flagged the discrepancy to S&P, which admitted a mistake."
An August 7, 2011, editorial by Bloomberg
Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
mentioned that several other countries downplayed the downgrade.
Market consequences
Global stock markets declined on August 8, 2011, following the announcement. All three major U.S. stock indexes declined between five and seven percent in one day. However, U.S. treasury bonds, which had been the subject of the downgrade, actually rose in price and the dollar gained in value against the EuroEuro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
and the British pound
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
, indicating a general flight to safe assets amid concerns about a European debt crisis.
However, based on historical information from Bloomberg the cost to insure U.S. debts against default has risen from an average of around 25 basis points in 2007 to a range from 55 to 75 basis points in 2011. A higher cost of insurance is typically associated with increased risk of default.
Other consequences
Commentators pointed out that a downgrade might result in an increase in interest rates required to finance U.S. debt, potentially raising interest costs.In the two weeks after the downgrade announcement, SEC and Department of Justice announced that S&P was under investigation. Many news agencies described the investigations as backlash against the S&P downgrade. They noted that all three major credit-rating agencies — S&P, Fitch, and Moody's — had similar failings in predicting the sub-prime crisis, but that only S&P was targeted for investigation.
See also
- United States debt-ceiling crisisUnited States debt-ceiling crisisThe United States debt-ceiling crisis was a financial crisis in 2011 that started as a debate in the United States Congress about increasing the debt ceiling. The immediate crisis ended when a complex deal was reached that raised the debt ceiling and reduced future government spending...
- United States public debtUnited States public debtThe United States public debt is the money borrowed by the federal government of the United States at any one time through the issue of securities by the Treasury and other federal government agencies...
External links
Official S&P reports- http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DResearchUpdate_US_Outlook_4_18_11.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1243900974568&blobheadervalue3=UTF-8Research Update: United States of America 'AAA/A-1+' Rating Affirmed; Outlook Revised To Negative], April 18, 2011
- http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DFiscalChallenges_4_18_11.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1243900974576&blobheadervalue3=UTF-8Fiscal Challenges Weighing On The 'AAA' Sovereign Credit Rating On The Government Of The United States], April 18, 2011
- http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DACloserLook_US_Outlook_4_18_11.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1243900974560&blobheadervalue3=UTF-8Credit FAQ: A Closer Look At The Revision Of The Outlook On The U.S. Government Rating], April 18, 2011
- http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DCriteriaGovernmentsSovereignsSovereignGovernmentRatingMethodologyAndAssumptions.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1243943646614&blobheadervalue3=UTF-8Criteria | Governments | Sovereigns: Sovereign Government Rating Methodology And Assumptions], June 30, 2011
- http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DUnitedStatesofAmerica_AAAA_7_14_11.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1243932109521&blobheadervalue3=UTF-8Research Update: United States of America 'AAA/A-1+' Ratings Placed On CreditWatch Negative On Rising Risk Of Policy Stalemate], July 14, 2011
- Special Report: U.S. Negative CreditWatch Placement And The Knock-On Effects, July 18, 2011
- The Implications Of The U.S. Debt Ceiling Standoff For Global Financial Institutions, July 21, 2011
- The U.S. Debt Ceiling Standoff Could Reverberate Around The Globe--With Or Without A Deal, July 22, 2011
- http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DUS_Downgraded_AA%2B.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1243942957443&blobheadervalue3=UTF-8Research Update: United States of America Long-Term Rating Lowered To 'AA+' On Political Risks And Rising Debt Burden; Outlook Negative] August 5, 2011
- http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DPressReleaseAug6.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1243943612380&blobheadervalue3=UTF-8"Press Release: Standard & Poor's Clarifies Assumption Used On Discretionary Spending Growth"], August 6, 2011
- http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DRatingsOnSelectGREsAndFDICAndNCUAGuaranteedDebtLoweredAfterSovereignDowngrade.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1243944293977&blobheadervalue3=UTF-8Ratings On Select GREs And FDIC- And NCUA-Guaranteed Debt Lowered After Sovereign Downgrade], August 8, 2011
- http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DRatingsOnTheUSCentralSecuritiesDepositoryAndThreeClearinghousesLoweredFollowingUSSovereignDowngrade.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1243944293969&blobheadervalue3=UTF-8Ratings On The U.S. Central Securities Depository And Three Clearinghouses Lowered Following U.S. Sovereign Downgrade], August 8, 2011
Official S&P video
- "Standard & Poor's Lowers The U.S. Sovereign Credit Rating To 'AA+' On Debt And Budget Concerns; Outlook Negative". August 7, 2011, video with David T. Beers, Standard & Poor's Global Head of Sovereign Ratings, and John B. ChambersJohn B. ChambersJohn B. Chambers is deputy head of the Sovereign Debt Ratings Group and chairman of the Sovereign Debt Committee at Standard and Poor's ....
, Chairman of the Sovereign Ratings Committee