{"id":6795,"date":"2011-08-11T11:43:10","date_gmt":"2011-08-11T15:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/?p=6795"},"modified":"2011-08-11T11:43:10","modified_gmt":"2011-08-11T15:43:10","slug":"downgrade-hurts-but-usd-no-ruble-always-be-frugal","status":"archive","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/be-frugal-news\/downgrade-hurts-but-usd-no-ruble-always-be-frugal\/","title":{"rendered":"Downgrade hurts but USD no Ruble. Always BeFrugal"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Standard and Poor's recent downgrade of US government bonds from the highest AAA rating to AA+ is painful. Because the downgrade is like having our \"credit score\" lowered, it may mean that we will have to pay a higher interest rate on our borrowings. Or that we may not be able to keep increasing our borrowings.<\/p>\n

Today, US government expenditure is only covered in part by tax collections; the rest is financed by borrowing. We have continued to spend, because our creditors, including foreign ones such as China, Japan, and Russia have been fantastic enablers so far \u2013 but for how long? Will this downgrade serve as a warning that we cannot continue our profligate ways forever? Probably, but it is important to note that despite the downgrade, we are still rated higher than the countries who lend us money (S&P rates China's government bonds AA-, Japan AA-, and Russia BBB).<\/p>\n

Also, in the current panicky reaction to the downgrade, we must not forget that the USA\u2019s worldwide credibility, and the US Dollar\u2019s value as the worldwide reserve currency, remains strong. In short, the USD is no Russian Ruble.<\/p>\n

The American consumer has been forced to be frugal, watch their income vs expenses, and manage their debt very carefully for some time. Now it is time for Washington to do the same.<\/p>\n

Time to be frugal. In fact, always Be Frugal.<\/p>\n

List of countries whose bonds are rated AAA by Standard and Poor\u2019s<\/span>
\nAustralia
\nAustria
\nCanada
\nDenmark
\nFinland
\nFrance
\nGermany
\nGuernsey
\nHong Kong
\nIsle of Man
\nLiechtenstein
\nLuxembourg
\nNetherlands
\nNorway
\nSingapore
\nSweden
\nSwitzerland
\nUnited Kingdom<\/p>\n

List of countries whose bonds are rated AA+ by Standard and Poor\u2019s<\/span>
\nBelgium
\nNew Zealand
\nUnited States of America<\/p>\n

Definitions of AAA and AA+ Ratings<\/span>
\nStandard and Poor's rates borrowers on a scale from AAA to D. Intermediate ratings are offered at each level between AA and CCC (e.g., BBB+, BBB and BBB-). For some borrowers, the company may also offer guidance (termed a \"credit watch\") as to whether it is likely to be upgraded (positive), downgraded (negative) or uncertain (neutral).<\/p>\n

AAA: The borrower has extremely strong capacity to meet its financial commitments. 'AAA' is the highest credit rating assigned by Standard & Poor's.<\/p>\n

AA: The borrower has very strong capacity to meet its financial commitments. It differs from the highest-rated borrowers only to a small degree. Includes: AA+: (high quality, with very low credit risk, but susceptibility to long-term risks appears somewhat greater)<\/p>\n

For Hi-Res Images of the Plane & Banner: see our Press Room<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"<\/a>

Standard and Poor's recent downgrade of US government bonds from the highest AAA rating to AA+ is painful. Because the downgrade is like having our \"credit score\" lowered, it may ... Read moreDowngrade hurts but USD no Ruble. Always BeFrugal<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6795","post","type-post","status-archive","format-standard","hentry","category-be-frugal-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6795\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}