GOP knows that Obama will win a gain in 2012! GOP have gone chicken and knows that the battle is al (805)

OOPS!


S&P downgrades U.S. credit rating for first time
By Zachary A. Goldfarb, Published: August 5 | Updated: Saturday, August 6, 12:35 AM
Standard & Poor’s announced Friday night that it has downgraded the U.S. credit rating for the first time, dealing a symbolic blow to the world’s economic superpower in what was a sharply worded critique of the American political system.

Lowering the nation’s rating to one notch below AAA, the credit rating company said “political brinkmanship” in the debate over the debt had made the U.S. government’s ability to manage its finances “less stable, less effective and less predictable.” It said the bipartisan agreement reached this week to find at least $2.1 trillion in budget savings “fell short” of what was necessary to tame the nation’s debt over time and predicted that leaders would not be likely to achieve more savings in the future.

“It’s always possible the rating will come back, but we don’t think it’s coming back anytime soon,” said David Beers, head of S&P’s government debt rating unit.

The decision came after a day of furious back-and-forth debate between the Obama administration and S&P. Treasury Department officials fought back hard, arguing that the firm’s political analysis was flawed and that it had made a numerical error in a draft of its downgrade report that overstated the deficit over 10 years by $2 trillion. Officials had reviewed the draft earlier in the day.

The downgrade to AA+ will push the global financial markets into uncharted territory after a volatile week fueled by concerns over a worsening debt crisis in Europe and a faltering economy in the United States.

The AAA rating has made the U.S. Treasury bond one of the world’s safest investments — and has helped the nation borrow at extraordinarily cheap rates to finance its government operations, including two wars and an expensive social safety net for retirees.

Treasury bonds have also been a stalwart of stability amid the economic upheaval of the past few years. The nation has had a AAA rating for 70 years.

Analysts say that, over time, the downgrade could push up borrowing costs for the U.S. government, costing taxpayers tens of billions of dollars a year. It could also drive up interest rates for consumers and companies seeking mortgages, credit cards and business loans.

A downgrade could also have a cascading series of effects on states and localities, including nearly all of those in the Washington metro area. These governments could lose their AAA credit ratings as well, potentially raising the cost of borrowing for schools, roads and parks.

But the exact effects of the downgrade won’t be known until at least Sunday night, when Asian markets open, and perhaps not fully grasped for months. Analysts say the initial effect on the markets could be modest because they have been anticipating an S&P downgrade for weeks.

Federal officials are also examining the impact of a downgrade in large but esoteric financial markets where U.S. government bonds serve an extremely important function. They were generally confident that markets would hold up but were closely monitoring the situation. Regulators said that the downgrade would not affect how banking rules treat Treasury bonds — as risk-free assets.

The ratings action immediately fueled partisan wrangling Friday night. Allies to President Obama said it underscored his call for a “grand bargain” that would trim $4 trillion from the federal budget involving a mix of tax revenue and spending cuts.

Republicans criticized Obama’s handling of the economy.


First time in US history. Gee.....wonder why?

22 members of SEAL TEAM 6 were killed in a Helo accident or shoot down in Afghanistan yesterday. Reports of from 31 to 38 were killed as a Chinook crashed in Eastern Afghanistan.

The Taliban are taking credit for a shoot down. And the military is saying there was hostile action in the area. But it is unclear to the cause at this point.

7 of the dead were Afghan soldier and President Karzai is sending his condolences to President Obama for the American lost. No names of the Americna have been releases pending notice of families.

None of the 22 Seal Team 6 were part of the bin Laden raid. Seal teams have two or three mission groups. Seems that this was a different mission group. But unclear at thsi point, if a stealth helo was involved. For it was the same Army helo unit that lifted Seal Team 6 on the bin Laden raid.

God bless them all and comfort their families in this time of lose.

More of the same propaganda! The biggest creators of jobs in any economy are small and medium sized businesses. The same kind of businesses who are been choked of credit due to the banking and financial crises. So lets get away from this idea that the super wealthy create jobs. Its nonsense.
Bush and the republicans gave tax breaks to corporations to expand overseas. How does this help job creation?

You're pretty good at Propaganda yourself,Dude!

Lets not get caught up in minor details here! Yes Bush recognized that there was a problem with these organisations. But he was one of the architects of these problems. In Paulsens words Bush policy "over-incented housing".
Bush's "ownership society" will make sure that all Americans will be paying for these mistakes for a long time to come!!

My propaganda is true though!!

yep,as true as the Keynes-Doctrine!