(Newser)
–
Two of the big three rating agencies have spoken, and neither is yanking the nation's triple-A credit rating—for the time being. Moody's kept the Aaa in place in the wake of the debt ceiling deal but said the rating outlook is "negative," meaning it can come down if things unravel or the economy worsens, reports MarketWatch. Earlier, Fitch said it was still reviewing things but called the debt deal a "step in the right direction," notes the Wall Street Journal. Now the big question: What will S&P say?
It's tricky because S&P had been the most vocal of the three about a potential downgrade, notes the Journal's Mark Gongloff. "My prediction? They’ll issue a similar placeholder statement soonish." That would be good news, because Felix Salmon at Reuters warns that if the Aaa goes away, it's probably gone for good.
