Mitchell Beer, in a commentary piece on MeetingsNet.com, writes on the new economic crisis:
"Last week brought the bad news we all had hoped to avoid. When the U.S. Congress reached a deal to raise the debt ceiling, it looked like the economy had dodged a bullet—until stock markets began ricocheting back and forth, losing all the value they’d gained in 2011 in a single day.
Then on Friday evening, Standard & Poor’s announced an unprecedented downgrade in the U.S. government’s credit rating, declaring itself “pessimistic about the capacity of Congress and the administration” to cut the deficit and stabilize the country’s finances.
As analysts quickly pointed out, S&P is not one to talk about financial credibility: “I really find it quite amazing that a credit agency that could rate mortgage-backed securities AAA has decided to downgrade the U.S. government,” said Gregg Salvaggio, senior vice president of Washington-based Tempus Consulting. But the damage was done, and there is little hope that this week will bring a sudden economic turnaround."
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