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Uh oh: US and UK sovereign debt might lose AAA status
Frontier Outlook ^ | March 15, 2010

Posted on 03/15/2010 12:43:32 PM PDT by ksm1

Bloomberg headline: “U.S., U.K. Move Closer to Losing Rating, Moody’s Says.” Watch out. But then again, is this really anything new?

Notable quotes:

The governments of the two economies must balance bringing down their debt burdens without damaging growth by removing fiscal stimulus too quickly, Pierre Cailleteau, managing director of sovereign risk at Moody’s in London, said in a telephone interview.

Under the ratings company’s so-called baseline scenario, the U.S. will spend more on debt service as a percentage of revenue this year than any other top-rated country except the U.K., and will be the biggest spender from 2011 to 2013, Moody’s said today in a report.

(Excerpt) Read more at frontieroutlook.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: aaa; debt; national; sovereign
Saw this posted on Seeking Alpha today. Scary news, maybe.
1 posted on 03/15/2010 12:43:32 PM PDT by ksm1
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To: ksm1
without damaging growth by removing fiscal stimulus too quickly

Say what? The "fiscal stimulus" is money sucked out of the private sector (taxes) or removed from the capital markets (government debt) in order to keep the bloated public sector fat and happy. (We truly are ruled by government employees unions.)

Reversing the "stimulus" would be a huge step in the right direction for recovery, coupled with tax cuts and reigning in government spending.

2 posted on 03/15/2010 12:50:16 PM PDT by SirJohnBarleycorn
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To: ksm1

... it’s about time!
Honestly, there needs to be SOME consequence for being so financially irresponsible.


3 posted on 03/15/2010 12:56:35 PM PDT by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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To: SirJohnBarleycorn

The opinion of the Moody’s guy, not me, and probably not the blogger either.


4 posted on 03/15/2010 12:57:22 PM PDT by ksm1
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To: ksm1

I know, I was just venting at the Moody’s guy.

We all know how astute those Moody’s folks proved to be during the housing bubble...


5 posted on 03/15/2010 1:03:48 PM PDT by SirJohnBarleycorn
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To: ksm1

Time to short treasuries.


6 posted on 03/15/2010 1:04:48 PM PDT by mlocher (USA is a sovereign nation)
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To: SirJohnBarleycorn
Reversing the "stimulus" would be a huge step in the right direction for recovery, coupled with tax cuts and reigning in government spending

Nobel Peace Prize in Economics for you!

7 posted on 03/15/2010 1:05:57 PM PDT by mlocher (USA is a sovereign nation)
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To: ksm1

hmmmm Piere in London says the US may get downgraded...

Thanks for the hot tip frenchie.

What he fails to realize is that Moodys and all rating agencies grade on a curve. Durring the boom, there was graded inflation, to be sure, but it was never an scientific absolute. The safest bond (not SAFE, just safest) will get AAA rating. The only way for US Treasuries to fall below AAA is for the world to believe some other countries bonds are significantly safer and available in sufficient quantity.


8 posted on 03/15/2010 1:49:31 PM PDT by lack-of-trust
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