S&P downgrades US credit rating to AA+

Story from The Takeaway. Listen to audio above for full report.

Standard and Poor’s downgrade of the United States’ credit rating on Friday, for the first time in history, brought condemnation from government officials, and fears of market turmoil. S&P’s managing editor, John Chambers, told ABC News’ “This Week” that there was a one in three chance of a further downgrade. He also said that the U.S. could regain its AAA rating, but warned that it may take as long as two decades — if it happens at all.

The rating on the debt that the US Treasury takes on when it sells Treasury Bonds was downgraded from AAA to AA+.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, says while there’s a lot for investors to be worried about today, the downgrade won’t have long-term impact.

“I don’t think the S&P downgrade will have long-lasting effects,” Zandi told The Takeaway. “I think this is something for today, maybe for tomorrow, but a couple weeks, a couple months down the road it will not have an impact.”

According to Louise Story, Wall Street and finance reporter for The New York Times, the S&P has come under fire for its decision.

“A number of politicians in the Obama administration went very public, criticizing the agency, saying that they did not have the competency to be doing this,” she said.

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