Free Republic

Picking out the most disturbing moments of Barack Obama's presidency is kind of like trying to choose the wettest parts of the ocean. Other than his "Even a blind squirrel sometimes gets a nut" moment where he said "yes" when the SEALS asked if they were allowed to kill Osama Bin Laden, his entire presidency has been one long, slow motion bamboo shoot sliding under the country's fingernails. So, everyone reading will probably be able to think of a few national nightmares that aren't included. 7) Obama bows to a Saudi King: Had Obama spent his childhood entirely in the...

The US Treasury has hit back against a Standard and Poor's downgrade of its AAA credit rating, saying there was a $2 trillion dollar error in the agency's calculations. "A judgment flawed by a 2 trillion dollar error speaks for itself," a Treasury spokesman said, just after the US lost its AAA rating for the first time ever and was downgraded to a AA+. *snip* Moody's and a third ratings agency, Fitch, say they continue to study the deficit plan to see if the US merits being kept in their ranks of AAA countries. Earlier, an official close to the...

In the heady, bubblicious days leading up to the financial crisis, the major credit-rating agencies were asleep on the job — which is exactly what one would expect from a federally protected cartel. They are neither the brightest lights nor most conscientious souls in the financial universe. So when Moody’s and Standard & Poor start making panicky noises about U.S. public finances — as both did today — then it is time to fire up the klaxons of alarm across the fruited plain. If it’s bad enough to get the attention of these incompetents, it’s bad. From the WSJ: Moody’s...

The bond market is saying that it’s safer to lend to Warren Buffett than Barack Obama. Two-year notes sold by the billionaire’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in February yield 3.5 basis points less than Treasuries of similar maturity, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Countries must get their fiscal houses in order or face credit downgrades, international ratings agencies say. International ratings agencies are warning the United States and several European governments that they face credit downgrades if they don't soon come up with clear plans to get their deteriorating fiscal houses in order. Moody's Investors Service said Tuesday the weakening public finances in the U.S. and Britain may “test the Aaa [triple-A] boundaries” for their ratings. While analysts say there is no immediate risk of a cut in the ratings of major developed economies, the less stable fringe players are already feeling the...

It looks like after two months of ignoring the risks that remain for the economy and markets, Wall Street has finally found something else to worry about: the possibility that the United States could lose its AAA credit rating. Thursday was one of those rare days when stocks, bonds and the dollar all fell. Stocks recovered slightly Friday morning ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, but Treasurys and the greenback were lower again. The sell-off was partly sparked by Thursday's news that rating agency Standard & Poor's had decided to place the sovereign rating of the United Kingdom on "negative...