Rating Agency Again Judges USA AAA

Joins S&P and Moody's

(NEWSER) - The third major bond rating agency joined the chorus warning that the US is in danger of losing its AAA credit rating today. Fitch Ratings said it was placing US in the “ratings watch negative” category, which according to Politico can lead to a downgrade in three to six months. More»

(NEWSER) - Until the day Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, all three of the major credit-ratings agencies swore its debt was safe, rating it A or better. They rated AIG at AA. And they gave 75% of the $3.2 trillion of subprime mortgage securities iron-clad AAA ratings. Moody’s, S&P and Fitch were, in short, at the center of the credit crisis. Yet all are still profitable—and regulators aren’t touching them, Bloomberg reports. More»

Also says outlook on US ratings is stable

(AP) - Take that, Standard & Poor's: Fitch Ratings says it will keep its rating on US debt at the highest grade, AAA, and says its outlook on the US ratings is stable. 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. Standard & Poor's set off a tempest with its downgrade last week; the third main ratings agency, Moody's, still rates the US debt at its highest grade but says its outlook is negative . More»

It threatens to downgrade nation's triple-A credit rating

(NEWSER) - Moody's is getting antsy over the lack of progress on a deal to raise the debt limit and cut the deficit, reports the Washington Post . It warned today that it will consider lowering the nation's credit rating unless a deal emerges by mid-July, citing a "very small but rising risk of a short-lived default." The agency blames political obstinance: “Although Moody’s fully expected political wrangling prior to an increase in the statutory debt limit, the degree of entrenchment into conflicting positions has exceeded expectation." More»

(NEWSER) - The credit crunch is starting to hit even top-tier universities, the Wall Street Journal reports. Both Moody’s and S&P stripped Dartmouth of its AAA rating this week. It’s the 20th college Moody’s has downgraded this year. “That’s comparable to the rate of downgrades universities saw during the dot-com bust,” said Moody’s managing director. “And we probably will surpass it.” More»