U.S. gets C credit rating, lower than Mexico

Capital understands the importance of ratings from large houses. There’s a big difference between perception and reality in many of the debt-laden economies across the world. The smaller domestic and various international rating agencies often distinguish the two with little media attention.

Weiss Ratings, based in Jupiter, Fla., has rated the creditworthiness of financial institutions for several years, but the firm launched sovereign- debt ratings of 47 countries on Thursday. The U.S. rating of C (Fair) ranks it 33rd, Weiss noted in a statement.

A C from Weiss is roughly equivalent to a BBB rating from the big rating agencies like Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch. That’s about two notches above non-investment grade, or junk, status.

Source: marketwatch.com

From Bob