Markets Anxiously Awaiting S&P'S Decision On US Credit Rating
AUGUST 3, 2011, 1:24 P.M. ET
By Stephen L. Bernard
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Standard & Poor's finds itself the center of attention Wednesday as it remains the lone major ratings company that hasn't said ruled on its credit rating for the U.S. following Tuesday's debt deal.
S&P, which along with Moody's Investors Service put the U.S. government on a review for possible downgrade last month, was seen during the fractious debate over the debt ceiling as taking the most aggressive position of the ratings firms. In particular, it raised the prospect of a downgrade, when it repeatedly said that at least $4 trillion in deficit reduction was needed for the U.S. government to get its fiscal house in order. The problem is that the plan that President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday contemplates only $2.4 trillion in cuts over 10 years.
The key question on many market participants' minds is whether that shortfall will compel the firm to strip the U.S. of its coveted "AAA" rating or whether it will wait for further developments in defining the austerity measures before acting.
S&P has various options available when it finally makes an announcement. The most dramatic move would be to immediately downgrade the rating. It might also follow Moody's lead and end the review by affirming the rating but assign a negative outlook to it. Alternatively, it could announce that it is keeping the rating on review, possibly to make a final decision once the recommendations of a new bipartisan fiscal commission are announced in November.
S&P has repeatedly declined to comment since the bill was passed Tuesday.
The odds that S&P downgrades the U.S. are probably still around 50-50, said Guy LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia. One of the issues S&P must grapple with is whether a sharply divided Congress has the political will to see through the recently passed deficit reduction plans and any additional plans in the future, he said.
Beyond the numbers, qualitative factors, such as the U.S.'s position in global markets and the dollar's stature as the world's reserve currency, also factor into whether to cut the government's rating, LeBas said.
In Moody's case, predicting its actions was easier. It largely telegraphed the idea that it would affirm the rating if the debt ceiling was raised and a default avoided.
In its statement Tuesday, Moody's said it views the $2.4 trillion plan as a good start toward improving the country's finances, but more work will need to be done.
Fitch Ratings, the third major ratings firm, also weighed in Tuesday, saying it was not surprised the country raised the debt ceiling. Unlike the other two, Fitch did not change its outlook or put the U.S. government on review during the debt ceiling debate.
The firm did note, however, that it is completing a regular review of the U.S. in August and could change its outlook on the rating at the conclusion of the review.
-By Stephen L. Bernard, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-4528;
stephen.bernard@dowjones.com